Cross Infection Control Awareness During 5th Wave of Covid 19 Pandemic, Omicron Variant Amongst the Dental Health Care Professionals of Government Sector University in Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the awareness of cross-infection control measures followed by DHCPs during the 5th wave of Covid-19 pandemic, Omicron variant in a government sector university of Karachi, Pakistan. Method(s): A Cross-sectional study was conducted from June till September 2022 at Sindh Institute of Oral Health Science during the 5th wave of Covid 19 pandemic, Omicron variant. Data was collected from 153 DHCPs from government sector university using a self-administered questionnaire, comprising of 20 closed ended question to assess the awareness and practice of cross infection protocols by DHCPs. Result(s): 98.7% of the participants were vaccinated against Covid 19. 96% of the participants used surgical gowns, face shields, and face masks as part of PPE during examining patients and while performing procedure. After treatment 99.3% of participants washed hands with hand wash, soap or used antiseptic solution. 77.1% of participants asked for Covid 19 test report and 68.6% of participants asked for proof of vaccination against covid 19 before treating patients. 96.1% of participants recommended disinfection of dental unit after every patient. 98% of participants changed glove after every patient. 88.2% of the participants said they would carry all elective and emergency procedures. Conclusion(s): The results of this study show that DHCPs practicing at government sector university have adequate knowledge regarding prevention of cross infection protocols and their importance to limit spread of infections. But their practice of prevention of cross infection during Covid 19 pandemic is not ideal as percentage of DHCPs requiring proof of vaccination or negative reports for Covid 19 were rather low and the percentage of DHCPs willing to carry elective procedures along with emergency ones was rather high.Copyright © 2023 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.

Prospects of TiO2-based photocatalytic degradation of microplastic leachates related disposable facemask, a major COVID-19 waste

COVID-19 is one of the serious catastrophes that have a substantial influence on human health and the environment. Diverse preventive actions were implemented globally to limit its spread and transmission. Personnel protective equipment (PPE) was an important part of these control approaches. But unfortunately, these types of PPE mainly comprise plastics, which sparked challenges in the management of plastic waste. Disposable face masks (DFM) are one of the efficient strategies used across the world to ward off disease transmission. DFMs can contribute to micro and nano plastic pollution as the plastic present in the mask may degrade when exposed to certain environmental conditions. Microplastics (MPs) can enter the food chain and devastate human health. Recognizing the possible environmental risks associated with the inappropriate disposal of masks, it is crucial to avert it from becoming the next plastic crisis. To address this environmental threat, titanium dioxide (TiO2)-based photocatalytic degradation (PCD) of MPs is one of the promising approaches. TiO2-based photocatalysts exhibit excellent plastic degradation potential due to their outstanding photocatalytic ability, cost efficiency, chemical, and thermal stability. In this review, we have discussed the reports on COVID-19 waste generation, the limitation of current waste management techniques, and the environmental impact of MPs leachates from DFMs. Mainly, the prominence of TiO2 in the PCD and the applications of TiO2-based photocatalysts in MPs degradation are the prime highlights of this review. Additionally, various synthesis methods to enhance the photocatalytic performance of TiO2 and the mechanism of PCD are also discussed. Furthermore, current challenges and the future research perspective on the improvement of this approach have been proposed.

Unmasking the Diagnosis of Acromegaly

The diagnosis of acromegaly is still a difficult task, as the disease has a slow onset and progression, and some of its symptoms may resemble those of other common conditions. Delays in diagnosis are common. Moreover, due to the continuous requirement for mask-wearing in many healthcare settings to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is crucial to conduct a comprehensive examination of each patient without a face mask.Copyright © The Author(s). 2022.

Sleep Promotion in a Busy Inner City High Dependency Unit

Introduction: Critical care patients commonly have disrupted sleep patterns, with reduction of REM sleep, duration of sleep, increased fragmentation and loss of circadian rhythm.1 Causes include the patients' pathophysiology, medications administered and the busy critical care environment. Data collection showed that our patients were sleeping, on average, for a single block of sleep of 3.5 hours. Delirium rates and its known deleterious effects are highly associated with poor sleep, as well as an impairment of psychomotor performance and neurocognitive dysfunction. Sleep deprivation in the healthy population impairs lymphocyte action, cytokine production and pro-inflammatory balance, as well as a reduction in respiratory function and prolongation of respiratory support.2 Objectives: To firstly measure the sleep quality and explore the reasons behind poor sleep from the patients themselves and to gauge the MDT knowledge and interest in sleep, as a fundamental component of patient management. Then using the results we aimed to improve the duration and quality of the patients sleep on high dependency unit. Method(s): The Adapted Richard Campbell Sleep Questionnaire was given to all patients in the HDU over a 4 week period. Results were analysed, then stored for post intervention comparison. The duration of sleep was documented for all patients and a staff questionnaire was done to assess knowledge and concern of staff. Interventions included a staff sleep awareness week with education and prompts attached to the charting tables promoting sleep. Face masks and ear plugs were freely available to be distributed at the evening ward round. The critical care pharmacist identified medications that could alter the patients ability to achieve REM sleep - e.g. evening administered PPIs, and melatonin was commenced early when sleep was troublesome. Estates fixed soft close doors and soft closed bins supplied for clinical areas. After interventions, there was a further 4 week study period where the above factors were repeated. The need for natural light was highlighted and thus this was optimized in the ward environment and those physiologically able were offered trips outdoors to facilitate normal day night wake cycle. With the COVID pandemic ongoing we also endeavored to limit movement overnight of venerable patients. Result(s): The original data collection was of 45 patients with multiple data points, and the second of 27 patients with multiple data points. Results from the Adapted Richard Campbell Sleep Questionnaire were compared using a one tailed students t test. There were significant increases in the subjective quality of sleep (p=0.046) and quantity of sleep (p=0.00018). Reasons given as to improvement of sleep were reduction in discomfort from monitoring and the bed (p=0.026), reduced ambient light (p=0.031) and reduced impact from the presence of other patients (p=0.002). Conclusion(s): There was marked improvement in the awareness of the importance of sleep within the critical care team after education promoting a change in attitude and culture towards sleep. We are planning a second iteration targeting sedation, noise from monitors and staff and overnight interventions. Although this has been done with level 2 patients, extension to level 3 areas would be beneficial.

Knowledge, intention, and practice of wearing face mask by common people to ensure protection against COVID-19 during pandemic

Background: Since the outbreak of global pandemic, wearing face mask not only protects the individual but also limits the spread of corona virus infection in the community. However, certain sociocultural and personal factors have created hinderance in wearing face mask by general people against COVID-19 virus. Aims and Objectives: The aim and objective of this study is to assess the knowledge, intension, and practice of wearing face mask among common people. Material(s) and Method(s): It was a cross-sectional study conducted among general people in a part of Western Odisha after ethical approval. A total of1050 adults above 18 years participated in this study. The data were collected from different locality of the town using a pretested self-administered questionnaire by all authors and research assistants of this project. The period of study was from July 2021 to December 2021. The results were tabulated, processed, and analyzed using SPSS-20. Result(s): Regarding knowledge score, we observed that 57% had average, 18% had poor, and 25% had good knowledge. Furthermore, we found 42% participants had positive intention and 58% had negative intention. Again we assessed that 35% of participants were practicing face mask appropriately and 65% practicing inappropriately. Conclusion(s): In this study, the score of knowledge, intention, and also the practice of wearing face mask against COVID-19 was lower than the average as compared to previous researches. Hence, health authorities should promote the people to wear mask and encourage awareness programs for the benefit of the society.Copyright © 2023, Mr Bhawani Singh. All rights reserved.

An Investigation into the Behavior of Disposable Face Masks in Modified Bitumen for Sustainable Transportation Pathways

Since December 2019, COVID-19 infection rates have risen considerably, and the virus is currently widespread around the world. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the production of medical waste has skyrocketed. Disposable face masks are considered medical waste. Alternative measures must be implemented to assist in reducing medical waste disposal, which can result in serious public health problems and have a negative influence on the environment. In this regard, this research was conducted to investigate the effect of disposable face mask (DFM) ash with varied rates ranging from 5% to 20% by weight on bitumen with a 5% increment to be utilised as an alternative material in asphalt pavement. A series of physical and rheological tests were conducted on the bitumen samples to study the behavior of the DFM ash in bituminous material. Overall, the physical and rheological test results revealed that introducing 20% DFM ash to the modified bitumen was unable to achieve the same properties as with the conventional SMA14 asphalt binder. However, the modified bitumen penetration grade PEN 60/70 has improved the properties and quality of the asphalt in the flexible pavement. In addition, utilising the DFM waste in road construction would be a sustainable technique for protecting the environment by minimising face mask waste caused by the COVID-19 epidemic while lowering the pavement's construction cost. These research findings may be commercialised to generate revenue in the construction industry for sustainable transportation pathways.

What is behind the mask? Social representation of mask wearing

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a preventive and widely mandatory use of face masks was a dominant segment of the infection prevention and control of the epidemic. Covering about 60-70% of the facial surface, face masks dramatically affect social interactions-especially emotion recognition, expression and mentalization. Difficulties in communication in the doctor-patient relationship become of paramount importance to the effectiveness of the healing work. This becomes even more critical when the patient suffers from a disorder characterized by a mentalization deficit. In our study, we use the theory of social representations to examine the contents with which mask wearing has become part of our everyday knowledge. Objectives: We aimed to explore the social representations of mask wearing considering its impact on interpersonal communication, in groups where the effectiveness of mutual understanding is critical. Methods: In our study, carried out during the second and third waves of the coronavirus epidemic in Hungary, we gave a free association task to the target word mask-wearing" in a group of medical doctors, and hospitalized somatic and psychiatric patients and healthy controls (total of 81 subjects, mean age 43.1 [13.83] years), then used the obtained associations to form semantic categories and to map the structure of social representations within the groups using a rank-frequency method. Results: The positive experience of safety and the negative experience of physiological discomfort caused by the facemasks were consistently central to the social representations of mask-wearing in all study groups. Differences were found between groups in terms of more mature elaborative categories, as well as anxiety, aggression, helplessness, damaged dependency needs, and forced conformity. Conclusions: The analysis of the social representations revealed ambivalent meanings of the mask wearing. Although there were significant differences in the structure of mask-related social representations, the mask was recognized as an "inconvenient but necessary" health protection measure in most of the groups studied. Based on the results, each group may be at risk in a different way or deal differently with the pandemic based on their specific representations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Hungarian) Elmeleti hatter: A COVID-19-pandemia idejen a jarvanyugyi intezkedesek meghatarozo reszeve valt az arcmaszkok viselesenek preventiv es szeles koru alkalmazasa. Az arcmaszkok az arcfelulet mintegy 60-70%-at lefedve jelentosen befolyasoljak a szocialis interakciokat - kulonosen az erzelemfelismerest, erzelemkifejezest es mentalizalast. A kommunikacioban fellepo nehezsegek a gyogyito munka hatekonysaga szempontjabol kiemelt jelentoseguve valnak az orvos-beteg kapcsolatban. Ennek meg kritikusabb esetei azok a helyzetek, amikor a paciens mentalizacios deficittel jellemezheto zavarban szenved. Tanulmanyunkban a szocialis reprezentaciok elmeletet hasznaljuk annak vizsgalatara, hogy a maszkviseles milyen tartalmakkal valt a kozos tudas reszeve. Celkituzes: Vizsgalatunkban a maszkviseles szocialis reprezentaciojanak felterkepezeset tuztuk ki celul, figyelembe veve annak interperszonalis kommunikaciora gyakorolt hatasat, olyan csoportokban, ahol a kolcsonos megertes hatekonysaga kiemelt jelentoseggel bir. Modszerek: Kutatasunkban a koronavirus-jarvany masodik es harmadik magyarorszagi hullama idejen, orvos, szomatikus es pszichiatriai beteg csoportban, valamint kontrollcsoportban (osszesen 81 fo, atlageletkor 43,1 [SD = 13,83] ev) szabad asszociacios feladatot adtunk a maszkviseles" hivoszora. A nyert adatokbol szemantikus kategoriakat kepeztunk, majd ranggyakorisag-eljarassal felterkepeztuk a szocialis reprezentaciok szerkezetet az egyes csoportokon belul. Eredmenyek: A vizsgalati csoportok maszkhasznalathoz kapcsolodo szocialis reprezentaciojaban egysegesen kozponti elemkent jelent meg a maszkviseles altal nyujtott biztonsagelmeny, valamint a maszk zavaro testerzetet kelto hatasa. Kulonbseget talaltunk az egyes csoportok kozott elaborativ kategoriak megjelenese, illetve szorongas, agresszio, tehetetlenseg, serult dependenciaszukseglet, valamint a kenyszeru alkalmazkodas tekinteteben. Kovetkeztetesek: A maszkviseles szocialis reprezentaciojanak elemzese alapjan a maszkviseles ambivalens jelentestartalmakat hordoz. Bar a maszkviseleshez kapcsolodo szocialis reprezentaciok strukturajaban szamottevo kulonbsegek is mutatkoztak, ugyanakkor a legtobb vizsgalt csoportban a maszk a virusvedelem szempontjabol kenyelmetlen, de szukseges" eszkozkent kerult felismeresre. Az eredmenyek alapjan az egyes csoportok sajatos reprezentacioik alapjan eltero modokon lehetnek veszelyeztetettek, illetve kuzdhetnek meg a pandemia idejen kialakult helyzettel. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Detection of Real Time Face Mask using Convolutional Neural Network

In recent years, the global pandemic like COVID - 19 has changed the lifestyle of people. Wearing face mask is must in order to stay safe and healthy. This paper presents a real-time face mask detector which identifies whether a human is wearing a mask or not. Moreover, this system can also recognize the person wearing a face mask inappropriately or wear other things except a face mask. The proposed algorithm for face mask detection in this system utilizes Haar cascade classifier to detect the face and Convolutional Neural Networks to detect the mask. The whole system has been demonstrated in a practical application for checking people wearing face mask. © 2023 IEEE.

Properties of composites based on recycled polypropylene and lignocellulosic agricultural waste

In the present work, composites based on recycled polypropylene (PPr) and 30% treated and untreated lignocellulosic waste were prepared. The recycled polypropylene comes from recovered surgical masks used during the COVID-19 pandemic, from which the elastic band and the metal strip have been removed. The lignocellulosic waste used as a reinforcing agent consisted of the depleted substrate from the culture of Pleurotus ostreatus fungi, being a sawdust enriched in chitin pellets of corn cobs treated with borhot from the brewing of beer. The composites with 30% of treated/untreated sawdust were obtained in dynamical conditions by melt processing. The effects of sawdust, both treated and untreated, on tensile properties (strength and modulus of elasticity), dynamic-mechanical properties (storage/loss modulus and loss factor), thermal conductivity and thermal stability were studied. The results showed improved thermal and mechanical properties of bio-composite materials based on recycled polypropylene from used face masks and sawdust, which can be used as construction materials. © 2023, Fundatia Serban Solacolu. All rights reserved.

Security Vulnerability in Face Mask Monitoring System

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased demand for face mask detection systems that utilize deep learning and machine learning algorithms. However, these systems are susceptible to adversarial attacks, where an attacker can manipulate the system to make incorrect predictions. This study aimed to test the vulnerability of a deep learning-based face mask detection model to a specific type of attack called a black box adversarial attack in which the attacker possesses only partial information about the target model. The study's findings showed that the attack successfully reduced the model's accuracy from 96.48% to 49.25%. This emphasizes the need for more robust defense mechanisms in face mask detection systems to ensure their reliability. © 2023 Bharati Vidyapeeth, New Delhi.

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.

An Automatic CNN-based Face Mask Detection Algorithm Tested During the COVID-19 Pandemics

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of wearing face masks as a preventive measure to reduce the spread of the virus. In medical settings, such as hospitals and clinics, healthcare professionals and patients are required to wear surgical masks for infection control. However, the use of masks can hinder facial recognition technology, which is commonly used for identity verification and security purposes. In this paper, we propose a convolutional neural network (CNN) based approach to detect faces covered by surgical masks in medical settings. We evaluated the proposed CNN model on a test set comprising of masked and unmasked faces. The results showed that our model achieved an accuracy of over 96% in detecting masked faces. Furthermore, our model demonstrated robustness to different mask types and fit variations commonly encountered in medical settings. Our approaches reaches state of the art results in terms of accuracy and generalization. © 2022 Copyright for this paper by its authors.

3D-Printed Face Mask with Integrated Sensors as Protective and Monitoring Tool

The outbreak of the recent Covid-19 pandemic changed many aspects of our daily life, such as the constant wearing of face masks as protection from virus transmission risks. Furthermore, it exposed the healthcare system's fragilities, showing the urgent need to design a more inclusive model that takes into account possible future emergencies, together with population's aging and new severe pathologies. In this framework, face masks can be both a physical barrier against viruses and, at the same time, a telemedical diagnostic tool. In this paper, we propose a low-cost, 3D-printed face mask able to protect the wearer from virus transmission, thanks to internal FFP2 filters, and to monitor the air quality (temperature, humidity, CO2) inside the mask. Acquired data are automatically transmitted to a web terminal, thanks to sensors and electronics embedded in the mask. Our preliminary results encourage more efforts in these regards, towards rapid, inexpensive and smart ways to integrate more sensors into the mask's breathing zone in order to use the patient's breath as a fingerprint for various diseases. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.

A Successful Treatment of a Critically Patient with SARS-CoV2

Background: The role of inflammatory cytokines is known in the pathogenesis of organ damage and is also confirmed in the context of COVID-19 disease. The modulation of the cytokine storm seems to determine endothelial protection, which can translate into a reduction of the "capillary leak syndrome", and, consequently, in a better control of the formation of edema and pulmonary infiltrates. CytoSorb stands in this context as a cartridge capable of adsorbing cytokines and allowing a better clinical course. Case Report: A 69 years-old woman with a history of arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus and CKD, was admitted to ICU for SARS Cov 2 related critical illness staged with chest CT, blood gas analysis and PCR. At the admission, the patient presented with ubiquitous interstitial pneumonia, PaO2 60 mmHg with 90% Airvo2 and PCR 36.67. Therefore, in order to remove inflammatory cytokines, the patient underwent hemoperfusion treatment with the CytoSorb adsorbent cartridge. Method(s): The protocol used is approved by the FDA for the treatment of covid patients and consists of the use of 4 cartridges 12h, 12h, 24h, 24h with measurement for each cycle of PCR, PaO2 and chest CT control. Result(s): During the hemoperfusion whit CytoSorb, respiratory failure improved until the patient was discharged from the ICU on the tenth day, with oxygen support via simple facial mask. Below the progressive values of the PCR, PaO2 and the chest CT control on the twelfth day. Conclusion(s): The hemoperfusion treatment with the CytoSorb adsorbent cartridge proved to be a valid adjuvant therapy in determining a better clinical course both in terms of the need for invasive mechanical ventilation and survival.

A hybrid tiny YOLO v4-SPP module based improved face mask detection vision system.

Law offenders take advantage of face masks to conceal their identities and in the present time of the COVID-19 pandemic wearing face masks is a new norm which makes it a daunting task for the investigation agencies to identify the offenders. To address the issue of detection of people wearing face masks using surveillance cameras, we propose a novel face mask vision system that is based on an improved tiny YOLO v4 object detector. The face masks detection network of the proposed vision system is developed by integrating tiny YOLO v4 with spatial pyramid pooling (SPP) module and additional YOLO detection layer and tested and validated on a self-created face masks detection dataset consisting of more than 50,000 images. The proposed tiny YOLO v4-SPP network achieved a mAP (mean average precision) value of 64.31% on the employed dataset which was 6.6% higher than tiny YOLO v4. Specifically, for detection of the presence of a small object like a face mask on the face region, the proposed tiny YOLO v4-SPP based vision system achieved an AP (average precision) of 84.42% which was 14.05% higher than the original tiny YOLO v4 thus, ensuring that the proposed network is capable of accurate detection of a mask on the face region in real-time surveillance applications where visibility of complete face area is a guideline.

The Effectiveness of Face Masks in Preventing COVID-19 Transmission: A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks have been among the cornerstones of COVID-19 prevention. Therefore, evaluating their preventive effects against COVID-19 is crucial. This review aimed to systematically search for the systematic review articles that explored the role of various types of face masks in preventing COVID-19. METHODS: We browsed the keywords of this study in the online databases of Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane on 10th January 2023 and retrieved all the relevant systematic review articles. The records were downloaded into an Endnote file, and the duplicates were removed. A two-step screening process consisting of title/abstract and full-text screenings was conducted to select the most relevant articles. To ensure the validity and reliability of the results, this study adhered to the PRISMA protocol. RESULTS: A total of 28 systematic reviews were included in this review. Most studies found that face masks are beneficial against viral respiratory infections, such as COVID-19. Different types of masks were evaluated in included studies. It appeared that mask efficacy depends on the material, layers, fitting on the face and user compliance. N 95 respirator had maximum efficacy, especially when used continuously. CONCLUSION: Face masks have a beneficial effect against COVID-19. Home masks are less protective than surgical masks or N95 personal breathing masks. Besides, the use of masks may elicit a false sense of security in people, which may lead to poor hand hygiene and violation of social distancing. Therefore, the necessary training should be provided to the public to increase awareness and encourage the right practice of using the mask, emphasizing the preventive effects of washing hands, social distancing, and using a face mask against COVID-19.

Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles/Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibers as Impervious Barrier against Viral Infections.

BACKGROUND: Using face masks is one of the protective measures to reduce the transmission rate of coronavirus. Its massive spread necessitates developing safe and effective antiviral masks (filters) applying nanotechnology. METHODS: Novel electrospun composites were fabricated by incorporating cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs) into polyacrylonitrile (PAN) electrospun nanofibers that can be used in the future in face masks. The effects of the polymer concentration, applied voltage, and feeding rate during the electrospinning were studied. The electrospun nanofibers were characterized using SEM, XRD, FTIR, and tensile strength testing. The cytotoxic effect of the nanofibers was evaluated in the Vero cell line using the MTT colorimetric assay, and the antiviral activity of the proposed nanofibers was evaluated against the human adenovirus type 5 (ADV-5) respiratory virus. RESULTS: The optimum formulation was fabricated with a PAN concentration of 8%, w/v loaded with 0.25%, w/v CeO2 NPs with a feeding rate of 26 KV and an applied voltage of 0.5 mL/h. They showed a particle size of 15.8 ± 1.91 nm and a zeta potential of -14 ± 0.141 mV. SEM imaging demonstrated the nanoscale features of the nanofibers even after incorporating CeO2 NPs. The cellular viability study showed the safety of the PAN nanofibers. Incorporating CeO2 NPs into these fibers further increased their cellular viability. Moreover, the assembled filter could prevent viral entry into the host cells as well as prevent their replication inside the cells via adsorption and virucidal antiviral mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: The developed cerium oxide nanoparticles/polyacrylonitrile nanofibers can be considered a promising antiviral filter that can be used to halt virus spread.

The impact and effectiveness of the general public wearing masks to reduce the spread of pandemics in the UK: a multidisciplinary comparison of single-use masks versus reusable face masks.

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the UK government mandated the use of face masks in various public settings and recommended the use of reusable masks to combat shortages of medically graded single-use masks in healthcare. To assist decision-making on the choice of masks for future pandemics, where shortages may not be a contributing factor, the University College London (UCL) Plastic Waste Innovation Hub has carried out a multidisciplinary comparison between single-use and reusable masks based on their anatomy, standalone effectiveness, behavioural considerations, environmental impact and costs. Although current single-use masks have a higher standalone effectiveness against bacteria and viruses, studies show that reusable masks have adequate performance in slowing infection rates of respiratory viruses. Material flow analysis (MFA), life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost comparison show that reusable masks have a lower environmental and economic impact than single-use masks. If every person in the UK uses one single-use mask each day for a year, it will create a total of 124,000 tonnes of waste, 66,000 tonnes of which would be unrecyclable contaminated plastic waste (the masks), with the rest being the recyclable packaging typically used for transportation and distribution of masks. Using reusable masks creates >85% less waste, generates 3.5 times lower impact on climate change and incurs 3.7 times lower costs. Further behavioural research is necessary to understand the extent and current practices of mask use; and how these practices affect mask effectiveness in reducing infection rates. Wearing single-use masks may be preferred over reusable masks due to perceptions of increased hygiene and convenience. Understanding behaviour towards the regular machine-washing of reusable masks for their effective reuse is key to maximise their public health benefits and minimise environmental and economic costs.

Face mask effects on speaker verification performance in the presence of noise.

Due to its spread via physical contact and the regulations on wearing face masks, COVID-19 has resulted in tough challenges for speaker recognition. Masks may aid in preventing COVID-19 transmission, although the implications of the mask on system performance in a clean environment and with varying levels of background noise are unclear. The face mask has an impact on speech output. The task of comprehending speech while wearing a face mask is made more difficult by the mask's frequency response and radiation qualities, which is vary depending on the material and design of the mask. In this study, we recorded speech while wearing a face mask to see how different masks affected a state-of-the-art text-independent speaker verification system using an i-vector speaker identification system. This research investigates the influence of facial coverings on speaker verification. To address this, we investigated the effect of fabric masks on speaker identification in a cafeteria setting. These results present preliminary speaker recognition rates as well as mask verification trials. The result shows that masks had little to no effect in low background noise, with an EER of 2.4-2.5% in 20 dB SNR for both masks compared to no mask at the same level. In noisy conditions, accuracy was 12.7-13.0% lowers than without a mask with a 5 dB SNR, indicating that while different masks perform similarly in low background noise levels, they become more noticeable in high noise levels.