Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36194594›Full record

ArticlePloS one2022

Relative assessment of cloth mask protection against ballistic droplets: A frugal approach.

Victor Márquez-Alvarez, Joaquín Amigó-Vega, Aramis Rivera, Alfo José Batista-Leyva, Ernesto Altshuler

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 40% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Victor Márquez-AlvarezCenter for Complex Systems, Physics Faculty, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba.
Joaquín Amigó-VegaCenter for Complex Systems, Physics Faculty, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba.ORCID 0000-0001-5920-8883
Aramis RiveraZeolite Engineering Laboratory, Institute of Materials and Reagents (IMRE), University of Havana, Havana, Cuba.
Alfo José Batista-LeyvaCenter for Complex Systems, Physics Faculty, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba.ORCID 0000-0003-4317-0360
Ernesto AltshulerCenter for Complex Systems, Physics Faculty, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba.ORCID 0000-0003-4192-5635
University of Havana · CUHigher Institute of Technologies and Applied Sciences · CU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the relevance of evaluating the effectiveness of face masks-especially those made at home using a variety of materials-has become obvious. However, quantifying mask protection often requires sophisticated equipment. Using a frugal stain technique, here we quantify the "ballistic" droplets reaching a receptor from a jet-emitting source which mimics a coughing, sneezing or talking human-in real life, such droplets may host active SARS-CoV-2 virus able to replicate in the nasopharynx. We demonstrate that materials often used in home-made face masks block most of the droplets. Mimicking situations eventually found in daily life, we also show quantitatively that less liquid carried by ballistic droplets reaches a receptor when a blocking material is deployed near the source than when located near the receptor, which supports the paradigm that your face mask does protect you, but protects others even better than you. Finally, the blocking behavior can be quantitatively explained by a simple mechanical model.

Indexed as

COVID-19PandemicsHumansMasksSARS-CoV-2Textiles

Identifiers

PMID36194594
PMCPMC9531801
OpenAlexW4301374127

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.