Résumé
This investigation presents results of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling of aerosol behaviour within an arbitrary 'realistic' 100m2 office environment, with dynamic and variable respiratory droplet release profile applied based on published findings (Morawska et al., 2009). A multitude of ventilation strategies and configurations have been applied to the base model to compare the effectiveness of reducing the concentration of suspended aerosols over time. A key finding of the investigation indicates a relatively low sensitivity to increasing outside air percentage, and that the benefit from this strategy is heavily dependent on the in-duct droplet decay factor. The application of local recirculating air filtration systems with MERV-13 filters mounted on occupant desks proved significantly more effectiveness than increasing outside air concentration from 25% to 100% in reducing the quantity of suspended aerosols. This highlights that the ventilation industry should perhaps focus on opportunities to integrate filtration systems into furniture, partitions, cabinetry etc., and that an appliance-based solution may be more beneficial for reducing COVID-19 transmission in buildings (and likely more straightforward) than modifications to central ventilation systems, particularly in the application of refurbishments and retrofits. © 2022 17th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, INDOOR AIR 2022. All rights reserved.
Résumé
SARS-CoV-2 has been detected both in air and on surfaces, but questions remain about the patient-specific and environmental factors affecting virus transmission to the environment. Additionally, more detailed information on viral findings in the air is needed. In this cross-sectional study, we present results from 259 air and 252 surface samples from the surroundings of 23 hospitalized and eight home-treated COVID-19 patients between July 2020 and March 2021 and compare the results between the measured environments and patient factors. In four cases, positive environmental samples were detected even after the patients had developed a neutralizing IgG response. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in multiple particle sizes and different air samplers. Appropriate infection control against airborne and surface transmission routes is needed in both environments, even after antibody production has begun. © 2022 17th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, INDOOR AIR 2022. All rights reserved.
Résumé
We describe the deep learning-based COVID-19 cases predictor and the Pareto-optimal Non-Pharmaceutical Intervention (NPI) prescriptor developed by the winning team of the 500k XPRIZE Pandemic Response Challenge. The competition aimed at developing data-driven AI models to predict COVID-19 infection rates and to prescribe NPI Plans that governments, business leaders and organizations could implement to minimize harm when reopening their economies. In addition to the validation performed by XPRIZE with real data, our models were validated in a real-world scenario thanks to an ongoing collaboration with the Valencian Government in Spain. Our experience contributes to a necessary transition to more evidence-driven policy-making during a pandemic. © 2022 International Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence. All rights reserved.
Résumé
Students have needed to communicate professionally in various contexts this past year, just as students have always needed to do. They still prepared pre-doctoral proposals, s for online conferences, research articles, theses, dissertations, etc. We say still because it is important to remember that while COVID 19 placed the world in quarantine, professionally, those who could, tried to keep moving ahead. And yet, effective written communication has long been established as a creature that creates loneliness and anxiety [1]. Even before COVID, countless workshops and writing retreats had been offered around the world for graduate students [2]. This difficulty, both before and during COVID, is the reason we attempted to support young academic writers and students struggling with the monolith task of academic and scientific writing. © 2021 IEEE.