Commercial toilets emit energetic and rapidly spreading aerosol plumes.

Aerosols can transmit infectious diseases including SARS-CoV-2, influenza and norovirus. Flushed toilets emit aerosols that spread pathogens contained in feces, but little is known about the spatiotemporal evolution of these plumes or the velocity fields that transport them. Using laser light to illuminate ejected aerosols we quantify the kinematics of plumes emanating from a commercial flushometer-type toilet, and use the motion of aerosol particles to compute velocity fields of the associated flow. The toilet flush produces a strong chaotic jet with velocities exceeding 2 m/s; this jet transports aerosols to heights reaching 1.5 m within 8 seconds of initiating a flush. Quantifying toilet plumes and associated flow velocities provides a foundation for future design strategies to mitigate plume formation or to disinfect pathogens within it.

eGreenhouse: Robotically positioned, low-cost, open-source CO2 analyzer and sensor device for greenhouse applications.

Advances in gas sensors and open-source hardware are enabling new options for low-cost and light-weight gas sampling devices that are also robust and easy to use and construct. Although the number of studies investigating these sensors has been increasing in the last few years, they are still scarce with respect to agricultural applications. Here, we present a complete system for high-accuracy measurements of temperature, relative humidity, luminosity, and CO2 concentrations. The sensors suite is integrated on the previously developed HyperRail device (Lopez Alcala et al., 2019) - a reliable, accurate, and affordable linear motion control system. All measurements are logged with a location and time-stamp. The system was assembled from only off-the-shelf or 3D printable products. We deployed the system in an agricultural greenhouse to demonstrate the system capabilities.

Descriptive meta-evaluation. Case study of an interdisciplinary curriculum.

This article describes an example of meta-evaluation in an educational setting. The meta-evaluation examined an evaluation of a community-based, interdisciplinary curriculum. The Program Evaluation Standards (PES), divided into the categories of utility, feasibility, propriety, and accuracy, provided a framework for the meta-evaluation. Utility standards address the information needs of intended users. Feasibility refers to the extent to which an evaluation is realistic, prudent, diplomatic, and frugal. Propriety refers to the properness of an evaluation in terms of meeting legal and ethical obligations. Accuracy pertains to the trustworthiness of evaluation data. Use of the PES as a framework for descriptive meta-evaluation of a single case illustrated the breadth of issues involved in curriculum evaluation and their interrelatedness. Furthermore, the PES helped to reveal strengths and weaknesses that served as starting points for further improvement of the evaluation.

Home treatment of deep vein thrombosis. An out-patient treatment model with once-daily injection of low-molecular-weight heparin (tinzaparin) in 555 patients.

During a 22-month period, 555 consecutive patients at seven hospitals in the western part of Sweden with an acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT) not involving the iliac vein and not having pulmonary embolism were included in a study testing the efficacy of implementing out-patient treatment. For all patients with a confirmed diagnosis of acute DVT, a folder was used that contained two checklists with detailed instructions for further treatment, one for the doctor and one for the nurse, an information pamphlet for the patient and prepared prescriptions for low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) tinzaparin (Innohep) of 175 anti-Xa IU/kg body weight subcutaneously once daily and warfarin. Patients not requiring hospitalisation, according to strict guidelines, were then eligible for treatment as out-patients. Prior to release from the emergency department for home treatment, a nurse provided detailed information to the patient and administered the first tinzaparin injection. In 194 (35.0%) out of 555 patients, the DVT was localised only in the lower leg not reaching the popliteal vein. Factors predisposing to venous thromboembolism were identified in 35.0% of the patients. 332 (59.8%) out of the 555 patients studied did not require hospitalisation and were therefore treated as out-patients. 140 of these patients (42.2%) injected themselves, the injection was given by a relative in 63 (19.0%) patients and by the community nurse in 129 (38.9%). Six (1.8%) patients reported a worsening of the DVT condition during the LMWH treatment period. No major bleedings were observed during the injection treatment period. Except for local minor skin bleedings at the injection site, only 3 (0.9%) patients reported minor bleedings during the injection treatment period. Recurrences of venous thromboembolism during the first 2 months were reported in 9 patients (2.7%) out of 332 patients who were sent home from the emergency department. Five (2.2%) patients out of the 223 who were admitted to the hospital had an increased tendency to bleeding. Twelve patients (5.4%) were hospitalised because of a pronounced local status, 26 (11.7%) were senile, social factors were the reason for hospitalisation in 76 (34.1%) and lack of time of the physician in 39 (17.5%) of the patients. A pharmacoeconomic analysis found a cost reduction of 69% with the present model for home treatment compared with traditional in-hospital treatment of DVT patients. We conclude that tinzaparin can be safely used at home by patients with DVT below the inguinal region and that the model used in the present study is cost-effective.