A Benchmark on Masked Face Recognition

With the COVID-19 pandemic's emergency, using facial masks and contactless biometric systems became even more relevant to reduce the risk of contamination. Several direct and indirect problems gained relevance with the pandemic. Among them, masked face recognition (MFR) aims to recognize a person even when the person is wearing a face mask. Some state-of-the-art algorithms that work well for unmasked faces have suffered a severe performance drop when receiving masked faces as input. In this sense, the scientific community proposed approaches and competitions related to this topic. In this paper, we introduce a comparative study of four prominent solutions pipelines that use different techniques to tackle the masked face recognition problem, proposed by Huber et al. [1], Neto et al. [2], Boutros et al. [3], and Hsu et al. [4]. The performance evaluation was conducted on a real masked face database (MFR2 [5]), and using synthetic masks in three mainstream databases (LFW, AgeDB30, and CFP-FP). We report results regarding unmasked-masked (U-M) and masked-masked (M-M) face verification performance. The unmasked-unmasked (U-U) scenario was also reported as a baseline to evaluate the drop of the selected models on non-occluded face verification. We further analyze the obtained results, generating a comprehensive comparative study of the selected approaches. © 2022 IEEE.

Development of a Mobile Disinfectant Robot with UV Lamps for the Prevention of Covid-19

Viral diseases like Covid-19 are infectious and attack human respiratory system. During this time, places such as the hospital, supermarket and stations where crowds gather are at high risk of contamination. People in the vicinity of these areas can spread the virus not only through physical contact but also by touching articles or objects which are prone to contamination. This is why a device that can clean those infected areas without spreading it to others is much needed. To help mitigate this infectious disease the project was created to build a disinfectant robot that can be used remotely without heavy maintenance and has only one major installation cost and no continuous costs. That is the reason behind selecting the method of UV lamps to help sanitize public areas that can be extended to any type of public space at low cost and to decontaminate the area without the use of sprayers or reagents. All of these virus cleansers come in the form of aerosolized sprays or solutions but cannot be used everywhere particularly to clean garment factories or industrial surfaces. So, the UV lamps were finally selected that will be installed on a movable base automatically. © 2022 IEEE.

COVID-19 detection from lung ultrasound images

Early-stage detection of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is crucial for patient medical attention. Since lungs are the most affected organs, monitoring them constantly is an effective way to observe sickness evolution. The most common technique for lung-imaging and evaluation is Computed Tomography (CT). However, its costs and effects over human health has made Lung Ultrasound (LUS) a good alternative. LUS does not expose the patient to radiation and minimizes the risk of contamination. Also, there is evidence of a relation between different artifacts on LUS and lung’s diseases coming from the pleura, whose abnormalities are related with most acute respiratory disorders. However, LUS often requires an expert clinical interpretation that may increase diagnosis time or decrease diagnosis performance. This paper describes and compares machine learning classification methods namely Naive Bayes (NB) Support Vector Machine (SVM), K-Nearest Neighbor (K-NN) and Random Forest (RF) over several LUS images. They obtain a classification between lung images with COVID-19, pneumonia, and healthy patients, using image’s features previously extracted from Gray Level Co-Occurrence Matrix (GLCM) and histogram’s statistics. Furthermore, this paper compares the above classic methods with different Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) that classifies the images in order to identify these lung’s diseases. © 2022 SPIE.

Effect of the Graphene Nanoplatelets (GnPs) on the Mechanical Properties in Recycled PP-Based Hybrid Composites

In the day we fight against Covid-19, the use of disposable masks and isolation clothing is multiplied by 12 compared to the time before the Covid-19 pandemic. Considering that these disposable masks are made of polypropylene (PP), an average of 480 kilotons of PP waste is produced each year, exclusively from masks. After the use of these masks, it is important to collect and re-evaluate them in a controlled manner so as not to pose a risk of contamination and not to threaten the environment. Because of its advantageous properties, PP is used in the production of many parts in the automotive industry. With this study, it is aimed to develop composite materials to be used in car bumper manufacturing by using recycled PP obtained from melt blown PP fabrics (surgical mask fabric). Due to accidents or road conditions, impact damage can occur on the bumpers. Therefore, the impact resistance of the bumpers must be improved. In addition, in case of microscale damage resulting from the impacts received, microcracks may develop and cause material failure below the maximum tensile stress. In summary, effective reinforcements should be used to improve impact strength in composites for use in car bumpers. Accordingly, novel recycled PP (rPP) based composites are manufactured by using elastomer-styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) and graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) as compatible reinforcements with rPP. As experimental characterization, three-point bending tests and Charpy impact tests were carried out. Incorporation of GnPs increased the flexural strength and blending with SEBS improved the impact resistance of the developed composites. Certain clusters of the graphene nanoplatelets were observed by means of microscopy. © 2022, The Society for Experimental Mechanics.

Personal protective equipment for ENT activity during COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: In the COVID-19 era physicians have to face with need to perform office procedures maintaining the maximum safety for both the patient and the Doctor himself. The purpose of this paper was to suggest some equipment useful to perform outpatient visits in an ENT setting. METHODS: A simple modification of the standard headlight used during an ENT visit provides the operator a better face protection without any impairment in vision and comfort. In addition, in order to perform a safer ENT examination, a droplet protective barrier has been adapted to the patient's chair. RESULTS: Both the devices have been texted with success during a period of 2 months in our ENT clinic. No cases of contamination have been registered among physicians. CONCLUSION: A simple modification to a device used in the routine ENT activity implemented its protective efficacy with low costs. On the other hand, a more structured tool permitted to obtain a more protected environment during patient examination.

Endoscopic nasopharyngoscopy and ENT specialist safety in the COVID 19 era: the back endoscopy approach to the patient.

PURPOSE: To propose a way to safely perform endoscopic nasopharyngoscopy in ENT outpatient clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This manuscript highlights the importance of endoscopy in daily ENT clinical practice, which is a pivotal procedure in the diagnosis of many head and neck pathologies. However, since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, the authors have witnessed a drastic reduction (91%) in the use of endoscopic nasopharyngoscopy at their institutions. In fact, it is considered at risk of contamination for healthcare professionals, as any upper airway manipulation procedure. RESULTS: In the "Back approach to the patient" for endoscopic nasopharyngoscopy, the operator positions himself behind the patient and faces the monitor. The endoscopist, not being positioned in front of the patient, should, therefore, be less exposed to airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus. CONCLUSION: This simple variation of the physician's position during endoscopic nasopharyngoscopy could potentially reduce the risk of contagion since the operator is not in the trajectory of droplets and/or aerosols.

Performing the nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab for 2019-novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) safely: How to dress, undress, and technical notes.

BACKGROUND: To show how to safely perform nasopharyngeal and/or oropharyngeal swabs for 2019-novel coronavirus. METHODS: The video describes in detail the dressing and undressing procedures of health personnel, with the appropriate personal protective equipment. Technical notes for the execution of the nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab are also provided to avoid sampling errors. RESULTS: The undressing phase is the procedure with the highest risk of self-contamination for the health worker. Following the various steps as shown in the video, there were no cases of contagion among the otolaryngology team appointed to perform the swabs for SARS-CoV-2 testing. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the technical feasibility of safely performing nasopharyngeal and/or oropharyngeal swabs for identification of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA.

COVID-19 pandemic: Effects and evidence-based recommendations for otolaryngology and head and neck surgery practice.

The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly contagious zoonosis produced by SARS-CoV-2 that is spread human-to-human by respiratory secretions. It was declared by the WHO as a public health emergency. The most susceptible populations, needing mechanical ventilation, are the elderly and people with associated comorbidities. There is an important risk of contagion for anesthetists, dentists, head and neck surgeons, maxillofacial surgeons, ophthalmologists, and otolaryngologists. Health workers represent between 3.8% and 20% of the infected population; some 15% will develop severe complaints and among them, many will lose their lives. A large number of patients do not have overt signs and symptoms (fever/respiratory), yet pose a real risk to surgeons (who should know this fact and must therefore apply respiratory protective strategies for all patients they encounter). All interventions that have the potential to aerosolize aerodigestive secretions should be avoided or used only when mandatory. Health workers who are: pregnant, over 55 to 65 years of age, with a history of chronic diseases (uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and all clinical scenarios where immunosuppression is feasible, including that induced to treat chronic inflammatory conditions and organ transplants) should avoid the clinical attention of a potentially infected patient. Health care facilities should prioritize urgent and emergency visits and procedures until the present condition stabilizes; truly elective care should cease and discussed on a case-by-case basis for patients with cancer. For those who are working with COVID-19 infected patients' isolation is compulsory in the following settings: (a) unprotected close contact with COVID-19 pneumonia patients; (b) onset of fever, cough, shortness of breath, and other symptoms (gastrointestinal complaints, anosmia, and dysgeusia have been reported in a minority of cases). For any care or intervention in the upper aerodigestive tract region, irrespective of the setting and a confirmed diagnosis (eg, rhinoscopy or flexible laryngoscopy in the outpatient setting and tracheostomy or rigid endoscopy under anesthesia), it is strongly recommended that all health care personnel wear personal protective equipment such as N95, gown, cap, eye protection, and gloves. The procedures described are essential in trying to maintain safety of health care workers during COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, otolaryngologists, head and neck, and maxillofacial surgeons are per se exposed to the greatest risk of infection while caring for COVID-19 positive subjects, and their protection should be considered a priority in the present circumstances.