Chat about Novel Coronavirus - 2019-nCoV - COVID-19

My hairline receeds apace, but my cheek/beard line seems to be keeping up. It's like my whole head's hair allocation is slipping backwards like an ill fitting balaclava. Given my heritage, that is apt.

If you put them in the boot you wouldn't need the toaster

Spend the last 10 years cutting my own hairs; my time have come.

(He says, nearly completely as bald as a Lego head).

I was looking at office chairs for home on Amazon. First day I looked, at one specific chair, 60 quid. Next day 90. Few days slater 130!

I think knowing the hot cross bun carrying capacity of a 911 froot is essential...

‘Crumbs’

Makes sense.

r.e. hair, I am a prophet

Girlfriend will do mine tomorrow. It's quite long and desperately needed cutting before lockdown was initiated but I didn't get around to it.

Best bit of dramatic beard/haircut is all the horrid styles you can try on the way. Going to start with the top for a Danny Devito/monk style

Did this. Actually I bought it to shave my beard and the missus turned out to be ok doing the haircuts. Then just stopped cutting hair. Still use the clippers on the beard.

Correlation between PM10 air pollution and droplet spread?

http://www.simaonlus.it/wpsima/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID_19_position-paper_ENG.pdf

Don’t be daft. There’s a risk either the dad or son are contagious.

There's a risk that anyone delivering food packages, shopping, newspapers, post, flyers offering help are contagious. But I take your point that buns are not essential. One of the hard things about the coming months will be not being allowed to do small seemingly harmless, non essential things.

I had an argument the other day about the Standard newspaper being delivered for free. For people who dont use the internet, print media is a vital connection with the world but for others it's just another risk.

If I’ve understood correctly that’s terrifying? Ie that the virus can be airborne and travel on pollution particles? Would that be part of the reason London has had a surge in cases?

Look, I'm not a scientist, so I cannot ascertain how sound the research in that document is. Correlation and causation are obviously not the same thing. Just had this pop up on linkedin and thought it was worth mentioning.

No- as @pascalo states quite well- Correlation and Causation are not the same.
The conclusion of the paper is:

1. In China there was an epidemic
   
2. In China there was a large amount of particulate matter
   
3. Therefore there MIGHT be a link.
   
   

They cite papers in their initial paragraph thusly:
Citation 1/2:

To date, several scientific studies focused on viruses diffusion among humans demonstrated
that increased incidence of infection is related to airborne particulate matter (PM)
concentration levels [1,2]

Citation 1 states( https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08958370701665434)

The studies mentioned within this review demonstrate how exposure to common air pollutants can alter host immunity to respiratory viral infections.

i.e.- Pollution is bad for lung health.

Citation 2: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19539435
A study to assess the ability of aersolised fecal matter (designated as PM2.5 -finer than 2.5 micrometers [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particulates]) to carry avian influenza virus (AIV) subtype H10N
This showed that fecal matter that had been artificially 'spiked' with the virus did aerosolise the virus and was a 'worst outcome' method of spread amongst poulty.

Note 1: PM10 was subsequently utilised as the original study's particulate size of measuring. (10 micrometers and smaller)

So from the first 2 citations- we have a misinterpretation of the findings, and a change of particulate size.

Citation 3 in the text:

It is known that PM fractions (e.g., PM2.5 and PM10) serve as carrier

for several chemical and biologic pollutants, viruses included.

Citation 3 in actuality (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3402/tellusb.v64i0.15598
is a review of various biological particulates.
Its section on viruses states:

Viruses are almost completely inactivated in aerosols in the span of 1 d under such conditions.

'Conditions' being:

changes in temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, etc.

{{{It also shows the equation for virus inactivation as an interesting side note:

C/C0 = e ^-kt
Here C is the concentration of viable viruses at the time t, C 0 is the initial concentration of viable viruses and k is the rate coefficient of inactivation. Even for the most stable viruses, k is typically of the order of 0.01 min−1, corresponding to an effective half-life of about one hour}}}

Anyways
We've reached Citation 3 and none of them fully support what is being stated in the paper.

The remainder of the citations are CORRELATION studies between pollution and viral infections. And as above- increased polution= worse lungs= increased infection.

Essentially-the true conclusion of this paper is very simple:

1. there was a Viral epidemic in China
   
2. There was (is) a large amount of air pollution in China
   
   
   
   
   
   

Wish they would stop using 'fit and healthy' in headlines, have people's perception of what constitutes 'fit and healthy' really become so skewed that it applies to borderline obesity and all the risk factors that come with that?

Unrelated, but useful:
https://www.reuters.com/news/archive/reutersComService

I think knowing the hot cross bun carrying capacity of a 911 froot is essential @Dammit. Happy to help out. Can provide butter and a toaster.

Sadly the business which has Percy the Porsche (to do some work on the stereo and re-trimming the drivers seat) are shut due to C19. I'll buy another one so we can do this experiment.

check out 2ndhnd.com if you're after a proper decent one for cheap(ish).

Oz doing the right thing, social gatherings limited to two people... Infections have reduced to 9%, down from 25% a week ago IIRC... Maybe people are finally getting the message...

Also: 6 month moratorium on rental evictions.

We've reached Citation 3 and none of them fully support what is being stated in the paper.

You’ve got to wonder why it was being reported on the first place really.

Well, you don’t have to wonder, we know that any old garbage, as long as it generates eyeballs, clicks, likes and shares is fair game.

BBC was merrily mixing ‘from’ and ‘with’ with reckless abandon across their live reporting yesterday.

Pretty good stuff... Commercial rents being looked at next week, can't come soon enough for a couple of mates who have closed down and had to lay all their staff off...

Anybody been to a supermarket yet today? Did Boris talking tough yesterday reboot the panic buying?

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imagine being one of these fucking people: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-52052830

other queries included someone asking if it was illegal not to cough in a tissue, a caller urging police to arrest their neighbour before he drove off, and a man who asked: "My wife doesn't think her job is essential but I do and she's working from home. Is there anything I can do?"

Thanks!