Reducing COVID-19 airborne transmission risks on public transportation buses: an empirical study on aerosol dispersion and control

  1. Nathan J. Edwards
  2. Rebecca Widrick
  3. Justin Wilmes
  4. Ben Breisch
  5. Mike Gerschefske
  6. Jon Sullivan
  7. Richard Potember
  8. Angelica Espinoza-Calvio

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Abstract

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  1. Version published to 10.1080/02786826.2021.1966376
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.02.25.21252220: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    NIH rigor criteria are not applicable to paper type.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Analysis Methods: Raw data files for particle count, airflow, and GPS location data were stored in CSV file format per sensor which were then preprocessed to normalize formatting and combined using Python 3.8 with the pandas data analysis libraries.
    Python
    suggested: (IPython, RRID:SCR_001658)
    MATLAB version R2019a was used to import the data files, compute the response variable measurements, calculate summary statistics, and plot the particle count time-series data for each sensor and experiment run.
    MATLAB
    suggested: (MATLAB, RRID:SCR_001622)
    Final results were imported into Microsoft Excel for formatting.
    Microsoft Excel
    suggested: (Microsoft Excel, RRID:SCR_016137)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    Limitations of This Study: One of the primary limitations of this study is that it does not include results focused on determining safe seating arraignments within the bus. A key observation is that the NaCl aerosol eventually disperses throughout the whole bus, but distinguishment of aerosol cloud exposure levels between individual seats would require instrumentation at every seat (Silcott et al. 2020) rather than a single particle count sensor at every other seat row. Another limitation is that the study is focused on passenger safety rather than understanding localized airflow effects near the driver seat area. A third limitation is that the study considers aerosol dispersion and control from a single simulated cough rather than a real-world scenario with multiple passengers with various respiration rates (inhalation and exhalation). The overall effect on particle count and aerosol dispersion is expected to be more drastic with an increased number of people, however the optimal ventilation schemes would be the same as reported. Determining aerosol exposure risk (time and concentration) with multiple simulated passengers is much more complex and will be considered for future studies or additional mathematical analysis of this data set. A final limitation of this study is that the evaporation rate and aerodynamics of biological aerosols from human exhalation will be slightly different than with the NaCl test agent. Regardless, this study establishes the basis for optimal aer...

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: Please consider improving the rainbow (“jet”) colormap(s) used on pages 24 and 38. At least one figure is not accessible to readers with colorblindness and/or is not true to the data, i.e. not perceptually uniform.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a protocol registration statement.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  3. Version published to 10.1101/2021.02.25.21252220v1 on medRxiv