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In the last 20 years, the world has been threatened with coronavirus (CoV) pandemic threats from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2002, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012 and finally COVID-19 due to SARS-CoV-2 in 2019. These viruses posed serious global pandemic threats, with estimated case fatality rates of 15% for SARS-CoV, 34% for MERS-CoV, and 1-3% for SARS-CoV-2. With the current pandemic still far from over there is an urgent need to find new drug treatments for COVID-19. We can assume that this will not be the last coronavirus to threaten humanity, so we need better tools to identify drugs active against past but also future coronavirus threats. In this Chapter we describe in silico computer modeling and screening approaches that can rapidly identify drugs from existing drug libraries that could be repurposed to treat COVID-19 infections. We also describe how this computational screening pipeline can be expanded in the future to identify drugs with broad spectrum activity against a wide diversity of coronaviruses. A significant concern is that the protection against CoVs provided by single drugs protection may be short-lived because viruses rapidly mutate to develop drug resistance. We know from other viruses such as HIV that drugs hitting multiple targets within the virus provide better protection against the development of resistance. This Chapter describes the current state of development of in silico CoV drug repurposing, the challenges and pitfalls of these approaches, and our predictions of how these methods could be used to develop drugs for future pandemics before they occur. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
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INTRODUCTION: The skin is frequently subjected to a variety of environmental trauma and stress. It is unavoidably subjected to blue light due to the increased use of electronic equipment, including indoor lighting and digital gadgets like smartphones and laptops, which have a range of detrimental effects. The method of action and numerous harmful consequences of blue light on the skin are the main subjects of this review. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search has been performed using PubMed, GoogleScholar and EmBase databases and an updated review on the topic has been presented. RESULTS: Numerous studies have shown that being exposed to blue light accelerates the aging process and produces cutaneous hyperpigmentation. It also modifies the circadian rhythm. The two main molecules that mediate cellular responses to blue light are nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species. However, the precise process is still not fully known. CONCLUSION: These negative consequences may eventually cause more general skin damage, which may hasten the aging process. At times, skin protection may be crucial for protection against blue light.
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Hyperpigmentation , Light , Humans , Skin , Circadian Rhythm/physiology , Reactive Oxygen SpeciesABSTRACT
Kiosk machines have gained good popularity among the general public as they are easy to operate and provide a good interactive interface. As a result, multiple users use the kiosk machine throughout the day to find the information they are looking for. Users interact with the kiosk machine by the means of touching its screen or using the buttons. Due to this, it is observed that throughout the day hundreds or even thousands of people end up touching the surface of the kiosk machine. Because of this hygiene cannot be maintained as it is not possible to sanitize the kiosk machine after each use. This has become a serious issue considering the effects that the Covid-19 pandemic had on the world. Multiple people touching the same surface is one of the most common ways through which the virus can spread. To help deal with this problem we have designed a gesture control system using deep learning techniques through which kiosk machines can be operated in a touch-less way. © 2022 IEEE.
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The COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on people of all ages. Adolescents' exposure to online learning is linked to excessive screen time on digital devices, which leads to poor sleep quality. This study aimed to investigate the association between screen time on different electronic devices and sleep quality among adolescents in the United Arab Emirates. This study was based on a self-reported questionnaire, which was administered online to school-aged adolescents (aged 12-19 years). The multicomponent questionnaire collected information on sociodemographic characteristics, sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and screen time (minutes) on TV, TV-connected devices, laptops, smartphones, and tablets on weekdays, weeknight, and weekends using the Screen Time Questionnaire (STQ). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify factors correlated with poor sleep quality. A total of 1720 adolescents were recruited from private and public schools (mean age 14.6 ± 1.97 years). The mean PSQI score was 8.09 ± 3.37, and 74.3% of participants reported poor sleep (cutoff score >5). Mean scores were highest for the sleep latency (1.85 ± 0.97) and sleep disturbance (1.56 ± 0.62) domains. The highest STQ score was observed for smartphones, with a median screen time of 420 min on weekdays and 300 min on weekends. Screen time related to smartphones on weekends (p = 0.003) and increased screen time in bed (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with poor sleep. Our results confirmed the correlation between sleep and screen time in adolescents. The results may inform educational polices that target screen time and sleep among adolescents during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
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There is the application prototype 3.0 developed for automatized digital material formatting. It is developed to solve the global problem as digital screen users complain and symptoms due to the huge digital near workload. That significantly increased during the Covid-19 pandemic when all everyday tasks moved to a digital environment, including work tasks and education for all age groups. It can bring severe vision impairments and even blindness in the long term as humans' visual system is not adapted well enough to the digital environment and long-term work via screens by using inappropriate text typographic parameters for digital reading purposes. The latest existing Microsoft technologies for development have been used to reach broader digital document types. As well as, there is the use of the Realm database in the app prototype more straightforward for future modification. © 2022 IEEE.
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: Ensuring a healthy life and promoting well-being for all is one of the main objectives of the university, but the time that adults spend in front of the screens of digital devices in the development of academic activities in the online modality is a matter of concern about possible risks to physical, mental and social health. The research findings indicate that the time that higher education students spend in front of digital device screens is causing visual health problems, eye fatigue, physical inactivity, overweight or obesity, muscle pain and spinal pain. [...]it was found that there is an association between screen time in academic activities and increased risk of the health problems mentioned above. [...]worrying levels were also found in the health of the auditory system of higher education students. Así también, la encuesta European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (2022) realizada a los empleados de establecimientos educativos europeos, estipula que el primer factor de riesgo son los trastornos musculoesqueléticos como estar sentado durante mucho tiempo frente al escritorio.
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Two years on with Covid-19, touchless technology has evolved from a device that symbolizes luxury to something that is necessary. Eye tracker is one type of touchless technologies that uses user's gaze to interact with computer without touching the screen. Development of spontaneous gazebased interaction is progressing very rapidly. Researchers have developed various object selection methods without prior gazeto-screen calibration. Recently, the conventional approach of setting threshold was developed as a gaze-based object selection method. However, the use of threshold values is considered non-adaptive and requires additional data pre-processing to handle noises. To overcome this problem, deep learning is used as an object selection method for spontaneous gaze-based interaction. Deep learning does not require any data preprocessing method to achieve accurate object selection results. Out of five deep learning algorithms that were evaluated, LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory) and BiLSTM (Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory) networks achieved comparable accuracy of 95.17 pm 0.95% and 95.15 pm 1.17%, respectively. In future, our research is promising for development of real-time object selection technique for touchless public display. © 2022 IEEE.
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In spring of 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic brought in-person gatherings across the world to a screeching halt. Over the last two years it has become the norm to conduct workshops and meetings sitting in front of a computer screen rather than in a room full of people. Nowadays, things like raising a virtual hand or reminding someone about the mute button seem to be more common than physically shaking a team member's hand or sitting across the table from a client. Whether you are in the camp that believes virtual workshops are the greatest thing since sliced bread, a poor substitute for the real thing, or somewhere in between, it certainly does not seem like they are going away anytime soon. In this paper we discuss the impact on learning and information exchange in general, the value industry, specifically, the role of the facilitator and associated core competencies, and the path forward. We find that while learning and information exchange can be done in a virtual environment, there are obstacles that cause engagement, understanding, and creativity to be hindered. These same obstacles have also impacted the value industry. This has affected teams' ability to fully engage in the workshops, ability to learn and understand a subject better, and the team leader's ability to manage and facilitate workshop teams in the virtual environment. The good news is that most of these limitations are manageable, but it's important for us as an industry to recognize that improving on this takes time and effort. In our opinion, in-person workshops yield the best results by increasing team engagement, allowing for more informal communication, and parallel communication;all this increases both creativity and understanding. Further, they allow for more opportunities for team building which enhances collaboration and the trust built between team members, thus improving the team's collective capability. Virtual workshops can be done, and may be preferable in specific circumstances, but we must change our approach in virtual workshops to overcome these obstacles. We have taken the low hanging fruit in terms of solutions, but it will require more creative solutions if we are going to continue to conduct virtual workshops in the future. © SAVE International 2022 Value Summit Proceedings: Turning Up the Heat on Value. All Rights Reserved.
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SARS-CoV-2 depends on host cell components for infection and replication. Identification of virus-host dependencies offers an effective way to elucidate mechanisms involved in viral infection and replication. If druggable, host factor dependencies may present an attractive strategy for anti-viral therapy. In this study, we performed genome wide CRISPR knockout screens in Vero E6 cells and four human cell lines including Calu-3, UM-UC-4, HEK-293 and HuH-7 to identify genetic regulators of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our findings identified only ACE2, the cognate SARS-CoV-2 entry receptor, as a common host dependency factor across all cell lines, while other host genes identified were largely cell line specific, including known factors TMPRSS2 and CTSL. Several of the discovered host-dependency factors converged on pathways involved in cell signalling, immune-related pathways, and chromatin modification. Notably, the chromatin modifier gene KMT2C in Calu-3 cells had the strongest impact in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection when perturbed.
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Low oil prices, coupled with operational challenges in offshore environment due to COVID-19 restrictions, have driven oil and gas operators to implement low-cost technological solutions to optimize fields' production. For mature oil fields in offshore East Malaysia, sand production has become one of the onerous challenges that requires this approach. Sand production is known to adversely affect the well deliverability and it also contributes to safety concerns due to surface flowline leak and equipment failure. Hence, it is of upmost importance for operators to address the sand production downhole. To achieve this, through-tubing sand screens (TTSS) installation is opted due to its ease of installation and low-cost slickline operation. Although there have been many TTSS installations to date, there is still limited understanding of the factors that affect TTSS lifespan, and this has led to frequent TTSS changeout. Based on the operator's experience, TTSS lifespan can vary significantly across different wells ranging from just a few days to years of production. To improve the understanding of TTSS performance with the aim to increase TTSS longevity, a comprehensive study on potential contributing factors has been conducted by analyzing the past TTSS installations. Over the years, there were more than 75 TTSS installations performed in oil fields offshore East Malaysia. Lookback analysis was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of TTSS as remedial downhole sand control and investigate the factors affecting TTSS performance such as TTSS type, well production rates, TTSS deployment method, installation depth relative to perforation interval and well interruption frequency. Several criteria identified as the key performance indicators have been investigated to evaluate the performance of each TTSS installation, including the well flowing parameters, production uptime and sand production trend. Thorough study across different TTSS installations has concluded that TTSS lifespan varies according to well properties and well operating parameters. This paper presents best practices and lessons learnt from past installations to predict and improve the mean time between failures (MTBF) for TTSS. Case studies for several wells have been scrutinized to highlight the learnings for further enhancement of TTSS lifespan. Additionally, recommendations for further research and development of erosion resistant TTSS technology are also discussed. Copyright © 2022, Society of Petroleum Engineers.
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With the development of multimedia technology, people have fully enjoyed the pleasure of audio and video and start to pursue the immersion of multi-sensory interactive experience. Touching is the third interactive media after vision and hearing. We are eager to touch our loved ones remotely, not just through a cold screen to video them, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic. Operating the remote robot, We want to get tactile feedback without time delay as if we were there so as to complete the task better. We hope that the material of the scene can be felt and we can enjoy patting shoulders and clapping hands with each other. Therefore, it is necessary to build a new basic communication in the digital world, enabling low latency end-to-end transmission of tactile information and making our communication interaction warm and emotional. This paper presents an overview of the latest research progress of tactile communication from end-to-end. This paper briefly describes the tactile communication system, studies the current status of acquisition, display, compression and transmission of tactile data, analyzes application scenarios of tactile communication. Finally, the paper provides a conclusion and prospects the next research directions. It is hoped that this review can provide some insights into future research on tactile communication. © 2022 ACM.
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Because of the prevalence of COVID-19, medical capacity reduction, and inconvenience due to epidemic prevention policies, the development of telemedicine has been emphasized. An AI sensing device (i.e., Azure Kinect DK) with a mixed reality device (i.e., HoloLens 2) and window application are combined to design a system that completes the consultation process from a distance. This registering system uses an SQL server database, which reads the data of registered patients, selects the registration time and department on its own, and converts the data by PC/SC with an ISO7816 database. For the window application, the patient side screen and audio content for the window screen are captured through the lens and microphone array of Azure Kinect DK. HoloLens 2 is used as the main device on the doctor's side to design the window application for dictating case conversion and transmission, whereas the Unity engine is used to create mixed-reality scenes for viewing medical records and photos of patients. In the consultation part, doctor and patient devices use Dynamic 365 Assist to conduct video consultations via Microsoft Teams, transforming the traditional consultation form into a remote consultation service via the Internet. The consultation process records the consultation data by voice and then the prescription by Speech to Text and Azure cognitive voice service. It is expected to develop a hybrid-reality telemedicine system and combine metaverse-related technologies for more online interactive service functions. The future development goal is to integrate the virtual reality rehabilitation training system further to make the application of telemedicine more complete. © 2022 IEEE.
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Gaze-based interaction has until now been almost an exclusive prerogative of the assistive field, as it is considered not sufficiently performing compared to traditional communication methods based on keyboards, pointing devices, and touch screens. However, situations such as the one we are experiencing now due to the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the importance of touchless communication, to minimize the spread of the disease. In this paper, as an example of the potential pervasive use of eye tracking technology in public contexts, we propose and study five interfaces for a gaze-controlled scale, to be used in supermarkets to weigh fruits and vegetables. Given the great heterogeneity of potential users, the interaction must be as simple and intuitive as possible and occur without the need for calibration. The experiments carried out confirm that this goal is achievable and show strengths and weaknesses of the five interfaces. © 2022 ACM.
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Mandatory home isolation caused by COVID-19 in professional contexts led to a situation that required work activities to be converted into a remote modality. The literature on this topic is very recent, given the pandemic and the uncertainty of virtual and face-to-face work modalities. This study aimed to examine the effects of adults' prolonged exposure to screens on sleep quality, the type of devices used according to age and gender, periods of access to such devices and the impact on performance in the context of telework due to COVID-19. Specifically, the study analyzed the differences in the use of devices and in the time spent using them during and after teleworking between genders and age groups. A total of 127 Portuguese participants answered the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and a questionnaire that we specifically developed to characterize teleworking habits. The results showed differences between men and women regarding the use of devices and its impact on sleep quality, as well as differences in terms of age. These results are discussed in terms of how the current work context may affect performance, sleep, gender differences and the adverse effects of exposure to screens during and after work hours.
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COVID-19 , Sleep Wake Disorders , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Teleworking , COVID-19/epidemiology , Pandemics , Sleep , Sleep Wake Disorders/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Medical images such as X-Ray images, Mammograms and Ultrasound images are very useful diagnostic techniques used for understanding the functions of different internal organs, bones, tissues, etc. Most of the times these medical images are degraded by some noises and different kinds of blur. Image blurring and degradation leads to loss of quality of images which in hand causes difficulty in proper diagnosis. This paper emphases on the efficacy of Wiener filter in image de blurring and denoising Chest X-Ray of Covid-19 patients, ultrasound images of fetal abdominal cyst, umbilical cord cyst and Common Carotid Artery, Mammogram of both pathological and non-pathological breasts. Performance of Wiener filter is analyzed using image restoration parameters like Structural Similarity (SSIM), Histogram, Peak Signal to Noise Ratio and Mean Square Error. © 2022 IEEE.
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A chatbot is a software that produces a computer model of conversation through auditory or textual method between the user and the computer. Such bots use AI and NLP to understand user's questions and automate responses to them, simulating human conversation. In this modern technology almost, every person utilize smartphones in their day to day lives. Simply because, it has made life of a person simple by the touch of the screen, from extracting information from the internet, to provide personal assistance to entertainment everything happens just by the click of a button. Today Chatbots are used in various domains like education, customer service, medical, website help etc for seeking information, FAQ answering and guidance. Due to the advancements in AI and techniques used in data mining, healthcare chatbots are often used for medical screening. The aim of this paper is to do detailed study of various research papers related to chatbots and analyze the different tools, algorithms, software and platforms that are utilized. © 2022 IEEE.
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Climate science depends upon accurate measurements of air temperature and humidity, the majority of which are still derived from sensors exposed within passively ventilated louvred Stevenson-type thermometer screens. It is well-documented that, under certain circumstances, air temperatures measured within such screens can differ significantly from “true” air temperatures measured by other methods, such as aspirated sensors. Passively ventilated screens depend upon wind motion to provide ventilation within the screen and thus airflow over the sensors contained therein. Consequently, instances of anomalous temperatures occur most often during light winds when airflow through the screen is weakest, particularly when in combination with strong or low-angle incident solar radiation. Adequate ventilation is essential for reliable and consistent measurements of both air temperature and humidity, yet very few systematic comparisons to quantify relationships between external wind speed and airflow within a thermometer screen have been made. This paper addresses that gap by summarizing the results of a 3-month field experiment in which airflow within a UK-standard Stevenson screen was measured using a sensitive sonic anemometer and comparisons made with simultaneous wind speed and direction records from the same site. The mean in-screen ventilation rate was found to be 0.2 m s-1 (median 0.18 m s-1), well below the 1 m s-1 minimum assumed in meteorological and design standard references, and only about 7 % of the scalar mean wind speed at 10 m. The implications of low in-screen ventilation on the uncertainty of air temperature and humidity measurements from Stevenson-type thermometer screens are discussed, particularly those due to the differing response times of dry- and wet-bulb temperature sensors and ambiguity in the value of the psychrometric coefficient.
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The intensive and repetitive use of touch-screens may pose significant problems, such as ergonomic pain or musculoskeletal disorders. This research aims to study the effect of using mobile touch-screen devices on the human musculoskeletal system during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and to develop a model for classifying the effects of musculoskeletal stress (pain and discomfort) on the performance of educational activities. The Cornell musculoskeletal discomfort questionnaire was given to 544 participants (71% males and 29% females). An Association Rule Mining approach was applied to illustrate the correlation, and multiple machine-learning models – used to predict the impact of pain and discomfort on different body regions – were applied to determine risk levels that might interfere with the ability to perform daily activities. Most musculoskeletal disorders were reported in the neck region and lower back (64.33% and 55.33% respectively), followed by upper back (44.30%) and the right shoulder (38%). Analysis of association rules showed high positive correlation between the lower back and the neck (support = 43%, confidence = 77%). Additionally, it was found that the radial basis function network has the highest accuracy in prediction (84%). The results of the radial basis function model showed that interference in educational activities can be predicted by using pain indicators in body parts resulting from touch-screen device usage. © 2022, South African Institute of Industrial Engineering. All rights reserved.
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We design a central controller system (CCS) and a tele-controlled system (TCS) with an aim of developing the integrated tele-monitoring/operation system that can enable the medical staff to tele-monitor the state of therapeutic devices utilized in the isolation intensive care unit (ICU) and to tele-operate its user interfaces. To achieve this aim, we survey the medical staff for medical requirements first and define the design guideline for tele-monitoring/operation functionality and field applicability. In designing the CCS, we focus on realizing the device having intuitive and user-friendly interfaces so that the medical staff can use the device conveniently without pre-training. Further, we attempt to implement the TCS capable of manipulating various types of user interfaces of the therapeutic device (e.g., touch screen, buttons, and knobs) without failure. As two core components of the TCS, the precision XY-positioner having a maximum positioning error of about 0.695 mm and the end-effector having three-degrees-of-freedom motion (i.e., pressing, gripping, and rotating) are applied to the system. In the experiment conducted for assessing functionality, it is investigated that the time taken to complete the tele-operation after logging into the CCS is less than 1 minute. Furthermore, the result of field demonstration for focus group shows that the proposed system could be applied practically to the medical fields when the functional reliability is improved. IEEE
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Skin Hunger is a web-based interactive system for telematic installation and performance that plays on the zoom-style video-chat that has become ubiquitous during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants in the telematic installation can reach across the webcam screens to virtually 'touch' one another. By touching or moving together, participants create virtual organisms and sounds that emerge and evolve from participant relation and interaction, making the intangible connection tangible and giving it life. Skin Hunger explores a new way of enabling embodied joint music making and movement over a distance. © 2022 ACM.