ABSTRACT
Emerging infectious diseases that we are witnessing in the modern age are among the leading public health concerns. They most often occur in the form of epidemics or pandemics, and they have not been sufficiently researched. Owing to the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the World Health Organization has published various recommendations to prevent the spread of this communicable disease, including a recommendation to wear protective facial masks. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the filtration effectiveness of bacteria, yeasts, and molds on three different commonly and commercially available masks used in children's educational institutions. In addition, the bacterial content of indoor air bioaerosols was identified. The genera Staphylococcus and Micrococcus were dominant in all samples, whereas bacteria of the genera Bacillus, Acinetobacter, and Corynebacterium were identified at a significantly smaller number. Bacterial, yeast, and mold filtering effectiveness increased from the single-layer cloth mask, which proved to be the least effective, to the surgical mask, to the filtering facepiece type 2 (FFP2) mask. Furthermore, surveys are needed to study the effectiveness of protective measures.
ABSTRACT
This work describes the didactic experience made in the period 2020-2021 in Operations Research course in Industrial Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering of the National University of San Juan. Shifting to remote learning we made faster and deeper the methodological and technical changes in the teaching-learning process designed before pandemic. Both were based on the digital transformation of education and efforts to reform engineering education in Argentina: in order to meet the demands of this dynamic world, engineering programs are challenged to find innovative ways to teach classes so that graduates are prepared in soft skills as well as technical skills. The UNSJ Distance Education System made the Moodle platform immediately and massively available. This allowed us to make an abrupt transformation of the learning space. We use the flipped classroom method, design activities to promote transversal skills and modify the forms of evaluation. In response, the students have shown a strong commitment to the proposal, an important responsibility in group activities and a very good connection with virtual tools. In the post-pandemic we will opt a blend learning, to enhance the benefits of online and face-to-face teaching and tend to design a student-centered learning methodology. © 2022 IEEE.