Editor's Note This Chinese study finds that wearing N95 face masks for 14 hours significantly affects physiological, biochemical, and perception parameters. The effect was primarily caused by increased respiratory resistance and subsequent decreased blood oxygen and pH. This randomized clinical trial included 30 healthy participants between March 7 and August…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, finds a large degree of variation in fit testing results for N95 masks in healthcare workers (HCWs). The researchers retrospectively analyzed 12,582 qualitative fit testing results for several models of N95 masks in 8,809 HCWs. Among the…

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Editor's Note In this recent study, titled “A simple surgical mask modification to pass N95 respirator-equivalent fit testing standards during the COVID-19 pandemic” and published by PLOS ONE on August 24, the use of rubber bands worn over standard 3-layer surgical masks is shown to improve the mask’s protective seal…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle, finds that methylene blue with light (MBL) photochemical treatment can be used to decontaminate personal protective equipment (PPE) contaminated with COVID-19. MBL robustly and consistently inactivated three coronaviruses, including COVID-19, with 99.8% to >99.9% virus inactivation across…

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