YOLOv7 for Face Mask Identification Based on Deep Learning

The World Health Organization (WHO) has publicized a global public health emergency due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Wearing a mask in public can provide protection against the spread of disease. Tremendous progress has been made in object detection in recent times, thanks in large part to deep learning models, which have shown encouraging results when it comes to recognizing objects in images. Recent technological developments have made this progress possible. Wearing a mask in public is one way to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 from others. Our study employs You Only Look Once (YOLO) v7 to determine whether a subject is wearing a mask, and then divides them into three groups depending on the degree to which they are wearing a mask correctly (none, bad, and good). In this study, we merged two datasets, the Face Mask Dataset (FMD) and the Medical Mask Dataset (MMD), to conduct our experiment. These models' evaluations and ratings include crucial criteria. According to our data, YOLOv7 achieves the highest mAP (98.5%) in the "Good"class. © 2023 IEEE.

The global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines by the public-private partnership COVAX from a public-law perspective

This article examines COVAX, a public private partnership, from a public law perspective. It asks whether COVAX is a legitimate and appropriate instrument with regard to the goal of distributing COVID-19 vaccines in a globally equitable manner and enabling equal access to vaccination worldwide. By developing public-legal legitimacy standards for this purpose, the article critically distances itself from the outset from considering the use of private actors and forms of action in public functions ('privatization') essentially as a release of market economy rationality, which enables efficiency and effectiveness gains and relieves the public sector. With the public law perspective, the article questions precisely whether private-law, market-based action is appropriate with respect to the global distribution of vaccines in the pandemic.

COVID-19 SOP Compliance and Monitoring Electronic System for Business and Public Places Using Arduino Uno

COVID-19 Corona virus disease is a rapidly spreading contagious disease that is causing a global public health crisis. In December 2019, the coronavirus was identified in Wuhan, China. COVID-19 is causing severe disease issues and many people are losing their lives daily. SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2) is a severe infectious disease that is spreading very fast and is currently inflicting a healthcare crisis across the globe. The lethal coronavirus was founded in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The symptoms of this disease are fever, cough, fatigue, no taste or smell, stinging throat, headache, and difficulty in breathing. This deadly disease, COVID-19, is difficult to identify and spread. The vaccination process is still going on around the world. There are some existing strategies to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus by monitoring the temperature rise using sensors, wearing masks, and sanitizing their hands frequently. The proposed system comprises of an RFID reader, an IR sensor, a temperature sensor, a buzzer, a laptop or a personal computer with a web cam. A person on entry gets detected for their body temperature, wearing a face mask and then sanitizing their hands. If the temperature of the person is below 37.6 degrees, i.e., below the acceptance limit, then mask detection takes place by using MATLAB followed by spraying the sanitizer. Now the door will open automatically. Otherwise, the door will not open and the buzzer will sound. With these precautionary steps, people can survive this pandemic situation. © 2023 IEEE.

Improved Residual U-Net for COVID-19 Lung Infection Multi-Class Segmentation in CT Image

COVID-19, the new coronavirus, is a threat to global public health. Today, there is an urgent need for automatic COVID-19 infection detection tools. This work proposes an automatic COVID-19 infection detection system based on CT image segmentation. A deep learning network developed from an improved Residual U-net architecture extracts infected areas from a CT lung image. We tested the system on COVID-19 public CT images. An evaluation using the F1 score, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy proved the effectiveness of the proposed network. Besides, experimental results showed that the proposed network performed well in extracting infection regions so, it can assist experts in COVID-19 infection detection. © 2022 IEEE.

Ethical Failures of the COVID-19 Pandemic Response

This book draws attention to the non-biological—political, economic, societal and cultural—variables shaping both the emergence and persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global response to it, with a particular focus on political decisionmakers' role in the domestic and international politics surrounding the process of the pandemic. The book identifies the strategic and underlying ethical failures of decision making, using a process-tracing approach to reconstruct considerations, decisions and actions by key leaders—interested in thus weaving a global narrative of the response. The author highlights key speech acts, and interprets the causal implications embedded in a chronological and contextualised appraisal of events, statements and public health measures. The book further discusses the normative ethics of pandemic response, and presents lessons drawn from the present experience. It also offers a normative analysis taking into consideration pre-pandemic guidelines for response, including in the literature of public health ethics and pandemic preparedness plans. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Condition of water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) in Ghana's basic schools: Empirical evidence from Wa municipality

Access to functional water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) systems is a necessity for safe health and a fundamental determinant of human well-being. As a result, constant monitoring, tracking and bridging of the gaps in access to WaSH is a global public health requirement. Developing countries are currently disadvantaged in this era of the COVID-19 outbreak, particularly in the area of school-based WaSH. This study assesses the present condition and challenges hindering access to school-based WaSH in the Wa Municipality. Primary data involving 145 health teachers were sourced using survey questionnaires and supported with ocular assessment. Results show that basic schools in the Wa Municipality currently have in place some sort of WaSH facilities, thereby meeting the availability criteria to a large extent. However, these schools do not meet the remaining standards – functionality, accessibility, maintenance and quality of services, education and prac-tices. The major factors affecting the sustainable operationalisation of the school-based WaSH are poor maintenance and inadequate funding of WaSH infrastructure. The school-based WaSH in Ghana requires rapt policy attention if the quest to attain Sustainable Development Goal 6 by 2030 is to be achieved. © 2023 The Authors.

Erratum: The effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 mortality: A generalized synthetic control approach across 169 countries.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.820642.].

A united approach to promoting healthy living behaviours and associated health outcomes: a global call for policymakers and decisionmakers.

Chronic disease pandemics have challenged societies and public health throughout history and remain ever-present. Despite increased knowledge, awareness and advancements in medicine, technology, and global initiatives the state of global health is declining. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has compounded the current perilous state of global health, and the long-term impact is yet to be realised. A coordinated global infrastructure could add substantial benefits to public health and yield prominent and consistent policy resulting in impactful change. To achieve global impact, research priorities that address multi-disciplinary social, environmental, and clinical must be supported by unified approaches that maximise public health. We present a call to action for established public health organisations and governments globally to consider the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and unite with true collaborative efforts to address current, longstanding, and growing challenges to public health.

Impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on medical product imports from china from outbreak to stabilization: Monthly panel data regression and instrumental variable test.

This study conduct regressions of panal data with OLS and test with IV, empirically examines the COVID-19 epidemic's impact on the import of medical products from China from the perspective of the importing countries, exporting country, and other trading partners, and analyzes the inter-temporal impact across different product categories. The empirical results reveal that, in importing countries, the COVID-19 epidemic increased the import of medical products from China. In China, as an exporting country, the epidemic inhibited the export of medical products; by contrast, for other trading partners, it promoted the import of medical products from China. Among them, key medical products were most affected by the epidemic, followed by general medical products and medical equipment. However, the effect was generally found to wane after the outbreak period. Additionally, we focus on how political relations shape China's medical product export pattern and how the Chinese government is using trade means to improve external relations. In the post-COVID-19 era, countries should prioritize the stability of supply chains for key medical products and actively engage in international cooperation on health governance to further combat the epidemic.

We Charge Vaccine Apartheid?

Vaccine apartheid is creating conditions that make for premature death, poverty, and disease in racialized ways. Invoking vaccine apartheid as opposed to euphemisms like vaccine nationalism, is necessary to highlight the racialized distributional consequences of vaccine inequities witnessed with COVID-19. This commentary clarifies the concept of vaccine apartheid against the historical and legal usage of apartheid. It reflects on the connections and important disjunctions between the two. It places the intellectual property regime under heightened scrutiny for reform and transformation. This commentary finds that drawing on the intersections between a human rights and health justice approach can provide creative and novel approaches for anti-subordination. It concludes that acknowledging and naming the structural injustice of vaccine apartheid is only the first step towards providing redress.

The impact of COVID-19 and national pandemic responses on health service utilisation in seven low- and middle-income countries.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted health services worldwide, which may have led to increased mortality and secondary disease outbreaks. Disruptions vary by patient population, geographic area, and service. While many reasons have been put forward to explain disruptions, few studies have empirically investigated their causes. OBJECTIVE: We quantify disruptions to outpatient services, facility-based deliveries, and family planning in seven low- and middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and quantify relationships between disruptions and the intensity of national pandemic responses. METHODS: We leveraged routine data from 104 Partners In Health-supported facilities from January 2016 to December 2021. We first quantified COVID-19-related disruptions in each country by month using negative binomial time series models. We then modelled the relationship between disruptions and the intensity of national pandemic responses, as measured by the stringency index from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker. RESULTS: For all the studied countries, we observed at least one month with a significant decline in outpatient visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also observed significant cumulative drops in outpatient visits across all months in Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. A significant cumulative decrease in facility-based deliveries was observed in Haiti, Lesotho, Mexico, and Sierra Leone. No country had significant cumulative drops in family planning visits. For a 10-unit increase in the average monthly stringency index, the proportion deviation in monthly facility outpatient visits compared to expected fell by 3.9% (95% CI: -5.1%, -1.6%). No relationship between stringency of pandemic responses and utilisation was observed for facility-based deliveries or family planning. CONCLUSIONS: Context-specific strategies show the ability of health systems to sustain essential health services during the pandemic. The link between pandemic responses and healthcare utilisation can inform purposeful strategies to ensure communities have access to care and provide lessons for promoting the utilisation of health services elsewhere.

Global spread of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae: Epidemiological features, resistance mechanisms, detection and therapy

Bacterial drug resistance has become a global public health threat, among which the infection of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) is one of the top noticeable issues in the global anti-infection area due to limited therapy options. In recent years, the prevalence of CRE transmission around the world has increased, and the transmission of COVID-19 has intensified the situation to a certain extent. CRE resistance can be induced by carbapenemase, porin, efflux pump, penicillin-binding protein alteration, and biofilm production. Deletion, mutation, insertion, and post-transcriptional modification of corresponding coding genes may affect the sensitivity of Enterobacterales bacteria to carbapenems. Clinical and laboratory methods to detect CRE and explore its resistance mechanisms are being developed. Due to the limited options of antibiotics, the clinical treatment of CRE infection also faces severe challenges. The clinical therapies of CRE include single or combined use of antibiotics, and some new antibiotics and treatment methods are also being developed. Hence, this review summarizes the epidemiology, resistance mechanisms, screening and clinical treatments of CRE infection, to provide references for clinical prevention, control and treatment of CRE infection. © 2022 Elsevier GmbH

Knowledge integration for resilience among multinational SMEs amid the COVID-19: from the view of global digital platforms

Purpose: Multinational small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly participating in cross-border digital platforms – especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, knowledge integration (KI) has become more and more important. In fact, it has been deemed by many as the key to organizational resilience. Given this burgeoning phenomenon, this study aims to explore a path for improving the resilience of multinational SMEs. Through this process, this study also finds a relationship between the KI processes associated with adopting global digital platforms and the resiliency of local–global businesses. Hence, in part, this paper also explores the effectiveness of all these mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach: This study used the stepwise regression method in Stata 16.0 to analyze the direct effects of both horizontal and vertical KI processes on the resilience of local–global businesses. Additionally, t-tests were also used to compare the differences in coefficients between the mechanisms. The sample analyzed comprised data on multinational manufacturing SMEs in the Yangtze River Delta region of China who are using global digital platforms. Findings: The KI processes of these firms, both horizontal and vertical, positively correlate to resilience. Horizontal KI processes more efficiently increase the resilience of global businesses, whereas vertical processes more efficiently increase the resilience of local businesses. Originality/value: First, this study provides insights into how multinational SMEs can improve their resilience in a crisis. In addition to adding to the knowledge of KI processes, this expands the KM literature on pandemics. Second, by creating two KI processes based on global digital platforms and discussing their influence on resilience, this research deepens the understanding of affordance in the KM literature. Third, focusing on the KI research stream, the results shed light on how KI processes might occur and how firms develop their KI processes. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Theoretical analysis of a measles model with nonlinear incidence functions

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease of global public health concern. A deterministic mathematical model for the transmission dynamics of measles in a population with Crowley–Martin incidence function to account for the inhibitory effect due to susceptible and infected individuals and vaccination is formulated and analyzed using standard dynamical systems methods. The basic reproduction number is computed. By constructing a suitable Lyapunov function, the disease-free equilibrium is shown to be globally asymptotically stable. Using the Center Manifold theory, the model exhibits a forward bifurcation, which implies that the endemic equilibrium is also globally asymptotically stable. To determine the optimal choice of intervention measures to mitigate the spread of the disease, an optimal control problem is formulated (by introducing a set of three time-dependent control variables representing the first and second vaccine doses, and the palliative treatment) and analyzed using Pontryagin's Maximum Principle. To account for the scarcity of measles vaccines during a major outbreak or other causes such as the COVID-19 pandemic, a Holling type-II incidence function is introduced at the model simulation stage. The control strategies have a positive population level impact on the evolution of the disease dynamics. Graphical results reveal that when the mass-action incidence function is used, the number of individuals who received first and second vaccine dose is smaller compared to the numbers when the Crowley–Martin incidence-type function is used. Inhibitory effect of susceptibles tends to have the same effect on the population level as the Crowley–Martin incidence function, while the control profiles when inhibitory effect of the infectives is considered have similar effect as when the mass-action incidence is used, or when there is limitation in the availability of measles vaccines. Missing out the second measles vaccine dose has a negative impact on the initial disease prevalence. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.

CoviCare: Tracking Covid-19 using PowerBI

In late 2019, the world witnessed the emergence of one of the most alarming pandemics recorded in the Contemporary Age, Covid-19. The new coronavirus is responsible for causing the disease Covid-19 and it has since spread to over 180 countries. As the disease spreads over the world, it has become a global pandemic, threatening global public health, and presenting a huge threat to global civilization. To oppose and prevent the spread of COVID-19, everyone should be well informed on the disease's constantly changing status. To accomplish this purpose, a COVID-19 analytical tracker was developed using PowerBI to provide the most up-to-date sickness status as well as critical analytical insights. The Covid tracker is intended for the general public who lack specialized statistical knowledge. It tries to express insights using a variety of basic and succinct data visualizations backed up by reputable data sources. The purpose of this paper is to describe the key strategies used to create the insights presented on the tracker, which include data retrieval, normalization techniques, and ML/DL models. In addition to explaining the facts and justifications for the approaches used, the paper includes several major discoveries made in relation to COVID-19 utilizing the methodologies. © 2022 IEEE.

The Cost of Ignoring Vaccines

This perspectives piece focuses on the detrimental cost of ignoring vaccines and refusing vaccination against COVID-19 in the United States. Much of the existing literature regarding the consequences of the unvaccinated emphasizes the impact to population health;however, few academic articles have explored the burden the unvaccinated pose to various sectors of society. This paper analyzes the impact that the unvaccinated have on healthcare systems, the US economy, and global health. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, unvaccinated populations were found to have put significant strain on healthcare systems, depleting medical resources and contributing to high rates of healthcare worker shortages. Furthermore, research suggests that between November and December 2021, over 692,000 preventable hospitalizations occurred in unvaccinated individuals, costing the US economy over $13.8 billion. Lastly, it is proposed that the strong international presence of the US, when coupled with high levels of disease transmissibility in the unvaccinated, provides a significant threat to global health. In conclusion, the unvaccinated have caused impacts far beyond that of population health;they have also posed a burden to healthcare systems, the economy, and global public health. Copyright © 2022, Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine Inc. All rights reserved.

Knowledge integration for resilience among multinational SMEs amid the COVID-19: from the view of global digital platforms

PurposeMultinational small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly participating in cross-border digital platforms - especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, knowledge integration (KI) has become more and more important. In fact, it has been deemed by many as the key to organizational resilience. Given this burgeoning phenomenon, this study aims to explore a path for improving the resilience of multinational SMEs. Through this process, this study also finds a relationship between the KI processes associated with adopting global digital platforms and the resiliency of local-global businesses. Hence, in part, this paper also explores the effectiveness of all these mechanisms. Design/methodology/approachThis study used the stepwise regression method in Stata 16.0 to analyze the direct effects of both horizontal and vertical KI processes on the resilience of local-global businesses. Additionally, t-tests were also used to compare the differences in coefficients between the mechanisms. The sample analyzed comprised data on multinational manufacturing SMEs in the Yangtze River Delta region of China who are using global digital platforms. FindingsThe KI processes of these firms, both horizontal and vertical, positively correlate to resilience. Horizontal KI processes more efficiently increase the resilience of global businesses, whereas vertical processes more efficiently increase the resilience of local businesses. Originality/valueFirst, this study provides insights into how multinational SMEs can improve their resilience in a crisis. In addition to adding to the knowledge of KI processes, this expands the KM literature on pandemics. Second, by creating two KI processes based on global digital platforms and discussing their influence on resilience, this research deepens the understanding of affordance in the KM literature. Third, focusing on the KI research stream, the results shed light on how KI processes might occur and how firms develop their KI processes.

How do knowledge diversity and ego-network structures affect firms' sustainable innovation: evidence from alliance innovation networks of China's new energy industries

Purpose>Facing the global public health emergency (GPHE), the conflict of cultural differences and the imbalance of vital resources such as knowledge among different organizations are becoming more severe, which affects the enthusiasm and sustainability of firms' innovation heavily. It is an urgent problem to be solved for firms how to make use of internal knowledge and external power to help firms' sustainable innovation (FSI). Thus, the purpose of this study is to deeply analyze how firms' internal knowledge diversity (KD) and external ego-network structures [ego-network density (ED) and honest brokers (HB)] affect FSI, as well as how the ego-network structures (ED and HB) moderate the relationship between KD and FSI based on the perspective of the ego network.Design/methodology/approach>Based on the data of the alliance innovation networks of China's new energy industries in 2009–2019, this study uses the social network analysis method and negative binomial regression model to explore the effect of KD and ego-network structures (ED and HB) on FSI, as well as the moderating effects of ego-network structures (ED and HB) on the relationship between KD and FSI based on the perspective of ego network.Findings>This study finds that KD, ED and HB can boost FSI. Moreover, ED plays a negative moderating role in the relationship between KD and FSI. However, the negative moderating effect of HB on the relationship between KD and FSI is not significant.Research limitations/implications>This study presents fresh empirical evidence and new insights for firms on how to make full use of firms' internal KD and external ego-network structures to facilitate FSI.Originality/value>First, this study not only enriches the research on the consequences of KD but also expands our understanding of the knowledge-based view to some extent. Second, this study not only enriches the motivation research of the FSI based on the perspective of ego-network in the context of the GPHE but also expands the application scope of social network theory and sustainable innovation' theory in part. Third, this paper is a new attempt to apply social network theory and knowledge-based view at the same time.

Vaccination—A Step Closer to Universal Health Coverage

BackgroundVaccination saves countless lives worldwide. However, a gap in accessibility to and acceptability of vaccines is observed locally and globally. This gap must be addressed through a combined intersectoral approach that takes into account different social, economic, political and environmental aspects of vaccination. In addition, a comprehensive strategy is necessary to provide better immunization to all as the Decade of Vaccines comes to an end.MethodsOne of the objectives of the World Health Organization (WHO) is to provide equitable access to quality vaccination around the world. Economic barriers as well as conflict situations lower vaccination coverage and hinder reaching the objective of having an immunization-for-all status. When resources are limited, innovative approaches to supplying vaccines are crucial for facing the challenges of our time and reaching this objective. Furthermore, an active demand for vaccination must be developed through advocacy, knowledge generation and building trust. A positive environment must be created around vaccination to reduce vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccination uptake. To increase vaccine accessibility and acceptability, the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) developed a Call to Action based on the Global Charter for the Public's Health, which demands all actors to collaborate in creating strong health policies for vaccination.ConclusionsAn intersectoral approach is required to increase the accessibility and acceptability of vaccines. The WFPHA's Call to Action proposes strategies to reach better immunization outcomes using the Global Charter as a platform for developing better vaccination policies.

COVID-19 Response Roles among CDC International Public Health Emergency Management Fellowship Graduates.

Since 2013, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has offered the Public Health Emergency Management Fellowship to health professionals from around the world. The goal of this program is to build an international workforce to establish public health emergency management programs and operations centers in participating countries. In March 2021, all 141 graduates of the fellowship program were invited to complete a web survey designed to examine their job roles and functions, assess their contributions to their country's COVID-19 response, and identify needs for technical assistance to strengthen national preparedness and response systems. Of 141 fellows, 89 successfully completed the survey. Findings showed that fellowship graduates served key roles in COVID-19 response in many countries, used skills they gained from the fellowship, and desired continuing engagement between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and fellowship alumni to strengthen the community of practice for international public health emergency management.