BACKGROUND Urban air pollution is an increasing health problem, particularly in Asia, where the combustion of fossil fuels has increased rapidly as a result of industrialization and socio-economic development. The adverse health impacts of urban air pollution are well established, but less is known about effective intervention strategies. In this demonstration study we set out to establish meth...

This study investigated differences in penetration between fibers and spherical particles through faceseal leakage of an N95 filtering facepiece respirator. Three cyclic breathing flows were generated corresponding to mean inspiratory flow rates (MIF) of 15, 30, and 85 L/min. Fibers had a mean diameter of 1 μm and a median length of 4.9 μm (calculated aerodynamic diameter, d(ae) = 1.73 μm). Mon...

Sizing data generated by the military for use in fitting respirators have been the normative basis for commercial respirator sizing. Anthropometric data developed for males and females of military age in the 1950s and 1960s are still in use today and form the only comprehensive body of information available on this subject. The twofold objective of this study was to: (1) develop an anthropometr...

In some industries, the temperature and the humidity will vary greatly between different work places, such as outdoor work in arctic or tropical climates. There is therefore a need to test respirator filters at conditions that simulate conditions that are relevant for the industries that they are used in. Filter cartridges were exposed to controlled atmospheres of varying isocyanate concentrati...

BACKGROUND Evidence concerning how Japanese physicians think and behave in specific clinical situations that involve withholding or withdrawal of medical interventions for end-of-life or frail elderly patients is yet insufficient. METHODS To analyze decisions and actions concerning the withholding/withdrawal of life-support care by Japanese physicians, we conducted cross-sectional web-based i...

Throughout the years, the performance of the FFRs has been the topic of extensive studies, resulting mainly in the characterization of aerosol penetration through filters using aerosols that are thought to be similar to those encountered in workplaces. There are limited number of studies in the literature reporting CE-marked respirator performance, and there is a need to perform a penetration e...

THE management of respiratory failure in polio-myelitis has advanced by crisis rather than by planned progress. When the 1946 epidemic struck Great Britain, the supply of cabinet-type respirators was woefully inadequate, a situation from which we were rescued by the energy and munificence of Lord Nuffield, who produced large numbers of this type of respirator. A similar situation arose in Copen...