An Individual Barrier Enclosure Actively Removing Aerosols for Airborne Isolation: A Vacuum Tent.

Background: Aerosol barrier enclosure systems have been designed to prevent airborne contamination, but their safety has been questioned. A vacuum tent was designed with active continuous suctioning to minimize risks of aerosol dispersion. We tested its efficacy, risk of rebreathing, and usability on a bench, in healthy volunteers, and in an ergonomic clinical assessment study.

Fitted filtration efficiency and breathability of 2-ply cotton masks: Identification of cotton consumer categories acceptable for home-made cloth mask construction.

The objective of this study was to characterize commercially-available cotton fabrics to determine their suitability as materials for construction of cloth masks for personal and public use to reduce infectious disease spread. The study focused on cottons because of their widespread availability, moderate performance and they are recommended for inclusion in home-made masks by international health authorities. Fifty-two cottons were analyzed by electron microscopy to determine fabric characteristics and fabric weights.

Enhanced Pb(II) removal from water using conductive carbonaceous nanomaterials as bacterial scaffolds: An experimental and modelling approach.

This study investigated the abilities of electrochemically active bacteria (EAB) as bio-catalysts for Pb(II) bioreduction in an attached growth reactor. Electrically conductive carbon nanofibers (CNF) were used as bacterial scaffolds to facilitate electron transfer between EAB and Pb(II). Our results demonstrated that the CNF attached growth reactor can remove > 80% and > 90% of Pb(II) from solution at 0.