By now, you should know that N95 and KN95 masks are better than surgical masks for protection from viral spread, and surgical masks are better than cloth masks. But which masks are best for understanding folks when they speak wearing them?
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis conducted a study to find out. They determined that cotton masks with filter inserts and masks with a transparent plastic panel were associated with worst performance when it came to understanding what the wearer was saying.
“We were surprised by how hard the transparent masks were,” said study author Violet Brown says. “It’s not surprising that the acoustics were worse (because of the plastic panel) but because there’s visual information, we thought it wouldn’t be so bad. Whatever visual information you get apparently does not overcome the fact that it’s hurting the auditory signal more.”
Generally speaking, most masks did not significantly impair communications in the absence of background noise. Presumably, folks were also more inclined to listen to other folks who were smart enough to wear a mask.
Body of Knowledge
Even small noises cause the pupils of the eyes to dilate. It is believed that this is why surgeons, watchmakers and others who perform delicate manual operations are bothered by uninvited noise. The sound causes their pupils to change focus and blur their vision, making it harder to do their job well.
Get Me That, Stat!
A University of Michigan survey found that 24% of pregnant and postpartum women skipped health care needs due to cost, and 60% said health care unaffordability was a major source of stress.
Counts
1 in 44: Estimate of current autism rate among 8-year-old children in U.S.
1 in 54: Estimate in 2016
1 in 59: Estimate in 204
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Stories for the Waiting Room
Try this: Place your open hand a few inches from your mouth. If you say “haaah,” your breath comes out warm, but when you say “woooh,” it comes out cold. The reason is physics and involves how air behaves through an open or pursed mouth opening.
If you create a jet of fast-moving air through stationary air, it tends to drag the stationary air along with it, essentially due to friction. This is called entrainment, and the effect is stronger the faster the air jet is moving.
When your mouth is open, the air coming out will entrain some cold air, but the air that reaches your hand will still be dominated by the warm air from your mouth.
But when your blow hard through pursed lips, the jet is moving a lot faster, so it entrains more air, and there is less warm air there to start with, so most of what reaches your hand is colder room air. Although this air is slightly warmer than the air in the room it moving, so it is much better at removing heat from your hand both by conduction and evaporation so it feels cold.
Doc Talk
Epiglottis: A small, movable “lid” just above the larynx that prevents food and drink from entering the windpipe. Epiglottitis occurs when the epiglottis becomes inflamed and swollen. It can be life-threatening because it can hinder a person’s ability to breathe.
Phobia of the Week
Chaetophobia: fear of hair, replaced in most aging men by peladophobia, the fear of losing hair.
Best Medicine
An outpatient is someone who has fainted.
Hypochondriac’s Guide
Myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy is a rare condition characterized by reduced body fat and increase muscle size. Affected individuals have up to twice the usual amount of muscle mass in their bodies, and typically, increased muscle strength. The condition is not known to cause any medical problems, and affected individuals are intellectually normal, but not quite superheroes.
Observation
“Your illness is not your identity. Your chemistry is not your character.” — Evangelical televangelist Rick Warren
Medical History
This week in 2009, the birth and seven-minute life of the first extinct-animal clone was described in the journal Theriogenology. A clone of the Pyrenean ibex, or bucardo, was created using DNA from frozen skin samples taken in 1999 from the last individual before it died in 2000.
The mother was a closely related subspecies of the Spanish ibex. The surrogate goat was implanted with an egg into which the bucardo’s DNA had been inserted to replace the original genetic material. The Spanish research team implanted 208 embryos in different goats, of which seven became pregnant. Of those, just one resulted in a live birth, a clone that died within seven minutes due to respiratory failure. Thus, the bucardo went extinct a second time.
Perishable Publications
Many, if not most, published research papers have titles that defy comprehension. They use specialized jargon, complex words and opaque phrases such as “nonlinear dynamics.” Sometimes they don’t, yet they’re still hard to figure out. Here’s an actual title of actual published research study: “You probably think this paper’s about you: Narcissists’ perceptions of their personality and reputation.”
Published in the Journal of Personal Social Psychology in 2011, the researchers discovered three things:
No. 1: Narcissists understand others see them less positively than they see themselves.
No. 2: They realize that positive first impressions deteriorate over time.
No. 3: They concur with descriptive terms such as “arrogant.”
Unanswered: Whether narcissists actually care about 1, 2 and 3.
Sum Body
Seven potential causes of hypertension (high blood pressure):
No. 1: General aging
No. 2: Genetics
No. 3: Poor diet
No. 4: Lack of exercise
No. 5: Underlying medical condition, such as kidney or thyroid disease
No. 6: Illicit recreational substance abuse
No. 7: Some decongestant medications
Curtain Calls
Nineteen-year-old Jonathan Burton died of asphyxiation after he attempted to storm the cockpit of a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City in 2000. A number of passengers interceded, knocking Burton down and then piling atop him, causing him to suffocate. No charges were filed against the passengers.
To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
