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Surgical Mask
A surgical mask, also known by other names such as a medical face mask or procedure mask, is a personal protective equipment used by healthcare professionals that serves as a mechanical barrier that interferes with direct airflow in and out of respiratory orifices (i.e. human nose, nose and human mouth, mouth). This helps reduce airborne transmission of pathogens and other aerosolized contaminants between the wearer and nearby people via respiratory droplets ejected when sneezing, coughing, forceful breathing, expiration or unintentionally spitting when talking, etc. Surgical masks may be labeled as surgical, isolation, dental or medical procedure masks. Although the material of which surgical masks are made will filter out some viruses and bacteria by trapping the aerosol suspended in breathed air, they only provide partial protection from airborne diseases because of the typically loose fit between the mask edges and the wearer's face. Surgical masks are distinct from mechanica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pathogen
In biology, a pathogen (, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a Germ theory of disease, germ. The term ''pathogen'' came into use in the 1880s. Typically, the term ''pathogen'' is used to describe an ''infectious'' microorganism or agent, such as a virus, bacterium, protozoan, prion, viroid, or fungus. Small animals, such as helminths and insects, can also cause or Transmission (medicine), transmit disease. However, these animals are usually referred to as parasites rather than pathogens. The scientific study of microscopic organisms, including microscopic pathogenic organisms, is called microbiology, while parasitology refers to the scientific study of parasites and the organisms that host them. There are several pathways through which pathogens can invade a host. The principal pathways have different episodic time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airborne Transmission
Airborne transmission or aerosol transmission is transmission of an infectious disease through small particles suspended in the air. Infectious diseases capable of airborne transmission include many of considerable importance both in human and veterinary medicine. The relevant infectious agent may be viruses, bacteria, or fungi, and they may be spread through breathing, talking, coughing, sneezing, raising of dust, spraying of liquids, flushing toilets, or any activities which generate aerosol particles or droplets. Infectious aerosols: physical terminology Aerosol transmission has traditionally been considered distinct from transmission by droplets, but this distinction is no longer used. Respiratory droplets were thought to rapidly fall to the ground after emission: but smaller droplets and aerosols also contain live infectious agents, and can remain in the air longer and travel farther. Individuals generate aerosols and droplets across a wide range of sizes and concentr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Face Masks During The COVID-19 Pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks or coverings, including N95 respirator, N95, FFP standards#FFP2 mask, FFP2, surgical mask, surgical, and Cloth face mask, cloth masks, have been employed as public and personal health control measures against the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In community and healthcare settings, the use of face masks is intended as Source control (respiratory disease), source control to limit Transmission of COVID-19, transmission of the virus and for personal protection to prevent infection. Properly worn masks both limit the respiratory droplets and Airborne transmission, aerosols spread by infected individuals and help protect healthy individuals from infection. Reviews of various kinds of scientific studies have concluded that masking is effective in protecting the individual against COVID-19. Various case–control study, case-control and population-based studies have also shown that increased levels of masking in a communit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Japan, Japan, Economy of South Korea, South Korea, and Economy of Taiwan, Taiwan are among the world's largest and most prosperous. East Asia borders North Asia to the north, Southeast Asia to the south, South Asia to the southwest, and Central Asia to the west. To its east is the Pacific Ocean. East Asia, especially History of China, Chinese civilization, is regarded as one of the earliest Cradle of civilization#China, cradles of civilization. Other ancient civilizations in East Asia that still exist as independent countries in the present day include the History of Japan, Japanese, History of Korea, Korean, and History of Mongolia, Mongolian civilizations. Various other civilizations existed as independent polities in East Asia in the past ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Developed Country
A developed country, or advanced country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for evaluating the degree of economic development are the gross domestic product (GDP), gross national product (GNP), the per capita income, level of industrialization, amount of widespread infrastructure and general standard of living. Which criteria are to be used and which countries can be classified as being developed are subjects of debate. Different definitions of developed countries are provided by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; moreover, HDI ranking is used to reflect the composite index of life expectancy, education, and income per capita. In 2025, 40 countries fit all three criteria, while an additional 21 countries fit two out of three. Developed countries have generally more advanced post-industrial economies, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cloth Facemask
A cloth face mask is a mask made of common textiles, usually cotton, worn over the mouth and nose. When more effective masks are not available, cloth face masks are recommended by public health agencies for disease source control in epidemic situations to protect others from virus-laden aerosols emitted by infected mask wearers' as they breathe, talk, cough, or sneeze. Cloth masks are also used to reduce the risk of transmission to the wearer. Because they are less effective than N95 masks in protecting the wearer against viruses and other airborne particles, they are not considered to be personal protective equipment by public health agencies. Cloth face masks were routinely used by healthcare workers starting from the late 19th century. They fell out of use in the developed world in favor of disposable surgical masks, and respirators with an electret (electrically charged) filter material, but cloth masks persisted in developing countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melt Blowing
Melt blowing is a conventional fabrication method of micro- and nanofibers where a polymer melt is extruded through small nozzles surrounded by high speed blowing gas. The randomly deposited fibers form a Nonwoven fabric, nonwoven sheet product applicable for filtration, sorbents, apparels and drug delivery systems. The substantial benefits of melt blowing are simplicity, high specific productivity and solvent-free operation. Choosing an appropriate combination of polymers with optimized rheological and surface properties, scientists have been able to produce melt-blown fibers with an average diameter as small as 36 nm. History During volcanic activity a fibrous material may be drawn by vigorous wind from molten basaltic magma called Pele's hair. The same phenomenon applies for melt blowing of polymers. The first research on melt blowing was a naval attempt in the US to produce fine filtration materials for radiation measurements on drone aircraft in the 1950s. Later on, Ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nonwoven Fabric
Nonwoven fabric or non-woven fabric is a fabric-like material made from staple fibre (short) and long fibres (continuous long), bonded together by chemical, mechanical, heat or solvent treatment. The term is used in the textile manufacturing industry to denote fabrics, such as felt, which are neither woven nor knitted. Some non-woven materials lack sufficient strength unless densified or reinforced by a backing. In recent years, non-wovens have become an alternative to polyurethane foam. Applications Because nonwoven fabrics do not require the intermediate step of converting fibres to yarn, they have more flexibility in materials usage. Nonwoven fabrics may be single-use, have a limited life, or be very durable. Nonwoven fabrics are sometimes designed to provide specific functions such as absorbency, liquid repellence, resilience, stretch, softness, strength, flame retardancy, washability, cushioning, thermal insulation, acoustic insulation, filtration, use as a bacterial ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
N95 Mask
An N95 respirator is a disposable filtering facepiece respirator or reusable elastomeric respirator filter that meets the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) N95 standard of air filtration, filtering at least 95% of airborne particles that have a mass median aerodynamic diameter of 0.3 micrometers under 42 CFR 84, effective July 10, 1995. A surgical N95 is also rated against fluids, and is regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration under 21 CFR 878.4040, in addition to NIOSH 42 CFR 84. 42 CFR 84, the federal standard which the N95 is part of, was created to address shortcomings in the prior United States Bureau of Mines respirator testing standards, as well as tuberculosis outbreaks, caused by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. Since then, N95 respirator has continued to be used as a source control measure in various pandemics that have been experienced in the United States and Canada, including the 2009 swine flu and the COVID-1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ASTM International
ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is a standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical international standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems and services. Some 12,575 apply globally. The headquarters is in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. It was founded in 1902 as the American Section of the International Association for Testing Materials. In addition to its traditional standards work, ASTM operates several global initiatives advancing additive manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, and emerging technologies, including the Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE), the acquisition oWohlers Associatesfor market intelligence and advisory services, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST-funded Standardization Center of Excellence (SCOE). History In 1898, a group of scientists and engineers, led by chemist, industry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colony-forming Unit
In microbiology, a colony-forming unit (CFU, cfu or Cfu) is a unit which estimates the number of microbial cells (bacteria, fungi, viruses etc.) in a sample that are viable, able to multiply via binary fission under the controlled conditions. Counting with colony-forming units requires culturing the microbes and counts only viable cells, in contrast with microscopic examination which counts all cells, living or dead. The visual appearance of a colony in a cell culture requires significant growth, and when counting colonies, it is uncertain if the colony arose from a single cell or a group of cells. Expressing results as colony-forming units reflects this uncertainty. Theory The purpose of plate counting is to estimate the number of cells present based on their ability to give rise to colonies under specific conditions of temperature, time, and nutrient medium. Theoretically, one viable cell can give rise to a colony through replication. However, solitary cells are the exception ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Staphylococcus Aureus
''Staphylococcus aureus'' is a Gram-positive spherically shaped bacterium, a member of the Bacillota, and is a usual member of the microbiota of the body, frequently found in the upper respiratory tract and on the skin. It is often positive for catalase and nitrate reduction and is a facultative anaerobe, meaning that it can grow without oxygen. Although ''S. aureus'' usually acts as a commensal of the human microbiota, it can also become an opportunistic pathogen, being a common cause of skin infections including abscesses, respiratory infections such as sinusitis, and food poisoning. Pathogenic strains often promote infections by producing virulence factors such as potent protein toxins, and the expression of a cell-surface protein that binds and inactivates antibodies. ''S. aureus'' is one of the leading pathogens for deaths associated with antimicrobial resistance and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains, such as methicillin-resistant ''S. aur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
