As the latest identified novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) variant of concern (VOC), the influence of Omicron on our globe grows promptly. Compared with the last VOC ...(Delta variant), more mutations were identified, which may address the characteristics of Omicron. Considering these crucial mutations and their implications including an increase in transmissibility, COVID‐19 severity, and reduction of efficacy of currently available diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics, Omicron has been classified as one of the VOC. Notably, 15 of these mutations reside in the receptor‐binding domain of spike glycoprotein, which may alter transmissibility, infectivity, neutralizing antibody escape, and vaccine breakthrough cases of COVID‐19. Therefore, our present study characterizes the mutational hotspots of the Omicron variant in comparison with the Delta variant of SARS‐CoV‐2. Furthermore, detailed information was analyzed to characterize the global perspective of Omicron, including transmission dynamic, effect on testing, and immunity, which shall promote the progress of the clinical application and basic research. Collectively, our data suggest that due to continuous variation in the spike glycoprotein sequences, the use of coronavirus‐specific attachment inhibitors may not be the current choice of therapy for emerging SARS‐CoV‐2 VOCs. Hence, we need to proceed with a sense of urgency in this matter.
Highlights
First report of characterization of the novel SARS‐CoV‐2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) Variant of Concern (VOC).
Omicron variant is the most divergent SARS‐CoV‐2 variant characterized as the highest number of amino acid substitutions identified in spike glycoprotein, till date.
These mutations in Omicron may be linked with more transmissibility, robust viral binding affinity, and immune escape.
Coronavirus specific attachment inhibitors may not be the current choice of therapy for SARS‐CoV‐2 Omicron (B.1.1.529).
Computer vision in consideration of automated and robotic systems has come up as a steady and robust platform in sewer maintenance and cleaning tasks. The AI revolution has enhanced the ability of ...computer vision and is being used to detect problems with underground sewer pipes, such as blockages and damages. A large amount of appropriate, validated, and labeled imagery data is always a key requirement for learning AI-based detection models to generate the desired outcomes. In this paper, a new imagery dataset S-BIRD (Sewer-Blockages Imagery Recognition Dataset) is presented to draw attention to the predominant sewers' blockages issue caused by grease, plastic and tree roots. The need for the S-BIRD dataset and various parameters such as its strength, performance, consistency and feasibility have been considered and analyzed for real-time detection tasks. The YOLOX object detection model has been trained to prove the consistency and viability of the S-BIRD dataset. It also specified how the presented dataset will be used in an embedded vision-based robotic system to detect and remove sewer blockages in real-time. The outcomes of an individual survey conducted at a typical mid-size city in a developing country, Pune, India, give ground for the necessity of the presented work.
In artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision consists of intelligent models to interpret and recognize the visual world, similar to human vision. This technology relies on a synergy of extensive ...data and human expertise, meticulously structured to yield accurate results. Tackling the intricate task of locating and resolving blockages within sewer systems is a significant challenge due to their diverse nature and lack of robust technique. This research utilizes the previously introduced “S-BIRD” dataset, a collection of frames depicting sewer blockages, as the foundational training data for a deep neural network model. To enhance the model’s performance and attain optimal results, transfer learning and fine-tuning techniques are strategically implemented on the YOLOv5 architecture, using the corresponding dataset. The outcomes of the trained model exhibit a remarkable accuracy rate in sewer blockage detection, thereby boosting the reliability and efficacy of the associated robotic framework for proficient removal of various blockages. Particularly noteworthy is the achieved mean average precision (mAP) score of 96.30% at a confidence threshold of 0.5, maintaining a consistently high-performance level of 79.20% across Intersection over Union (IoU) thresholds ranging from 0.5 to 0.95. It is expected that this work contributes to advancing the applications of AI-driven solutions for modern urban sanitation systems.
There is an increasing trend of using automated and robotic systems for the tasks that are hazardous or inconvenient and dirty for humans. Sewers maintenance and cleaning is such a task where robots ...are already being used for inspection of underground pipes for blockages and damage. This paper reviews the existing robotic systems and various platforms and algorithms along with their capabilities and limitations being discussed. A typical mid-size city in a developing country, Pune, India is selected in order to understand the concerns and identify the requirements for developing robotic systems for the same. It is found that major concern of sewers are blockages but there is not enough information on both real-time detection and removal of it with robotic systems. On-board processing with computer vision algorithms has not been efficiently utilized in terms of performance and determinations for real-world implementations of sewer robotic systems. The review highlights the available methodologies that can be utilized in developing sewer inspection and cleaning robotic systems.
Background
Pediatric hematological cancer survivors who undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) may experience long‐term neurocognitive impairments. This systematic review aims to ...assess the neurocognitive outcomes in pediatric hematological cancer survivors at least 5 years post‐HSCT.
Methodology
A comprehensive search was conducted in multiple databases, including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov, until October 2022. Relevant studies assessing the neurocognitive affect after 5 years of HSCT were identified and included in the review. The quality of included studies was assessed using the ROBINS‐I tool to evaluate the risk of bias.
Results
A total of five studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. The studies consistently demonstrated adverse effects of HSCT on neurocognitive outcomes in pediatric hematological cancer survivors after 5 years of the treatment. The most prominent impact was observed on global cognitive outcomes, including intelligence, attention, memory, and executive functioning. Specific cognitive domains, such as processing speed and academic achievement, were also significantly affected. Several studies reported a relationship between HSCT‐related factors (e.g., age at transplantation, radiation therapy, graft‐versus‐host disease) and neurocognitive impairments.
Conclusion
This systematic review provides evidence of the adverse impact of HSCT on neurocognitive outcomes in pediatric hematological cancer survivors at least 5 years post‐transplantation. The findings highlight the importance of long‐term monitoring and intervention strategies to mitigate these neurocognitive sequelae. Future research should focus on identifying risk factors and developing targeted interventions to optimize the neurocognitive functioning of this vulnerable population. Healthcare professionals involved in the care of pediatric hematological cancer survivors should be aware of these potential long‐term neurocognitive effects and incorporate appropriate assessments and interventions into survivorship care plans.
For pregnant ladies, various health parameters like ECG, blood pressure, SPO2 (stamina), respiration rate, blood glucose level, body temperature, etc. need to be monitored regularly and must be in a ...normal level. If the mother’ health become critical then definitely it will affect the baby. Hence it is recommended by physicians to do routine checkups at primary stages of pregnancy. But in rural areas, due to unavailability of well-equipped hospital facilities and also people don’t have awareness about their health which yields in abnormalities or creates critical issues. The presented paper summarizes, the available system and their strength and weakness and challenges in health monitoring of pregnant women. The proposed system is used to analyze various pregnancy biological factors like heart rate of pregnant women & Fetus, changes in blood pressure, blood glucose level, temperature, and weight. The proposed system will help for the rapid decision making and treatment through the high speed medical data transfer to the physicians over mobile for consulting and remote medical examinations. These values are transferred to database, to upload on server which can be monitored from any corner of the world.
In this paper, smartphone based aquatic debris monitoring robot design is proposed and discussed. Regularly monitoring aquatic waste or debris is of more interest to the environments, aquatic life, ...human health, and water transport. This paper presents the design of a robotic fish system that integrates an Android smartphone and a robotic ?sh for debris monitoring. The smartphone based aquatic robot can accurately detect debris in the presence of various environments.
A multicountry outbreak of the monkeypox virus has gained global attention. As of May 25, 250 confirmed human monkeypox cases have been reported globally. Monkeypox is caused by the Monkeypox virus, ...which belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus and Poxviridae family. Monkeypox is often a self‐limiting infection, with symptoms lasting 2–4 weeks with the case fatality ratio around 3%–6%. Monkeypox is transmitted to humans by direct contact with an infected person or animal or contact with virus‐contaminated material. Human monkeypox infections may lead to various medical complications such as fever, rash, and lymphadenopathies. Pneumonitis, encephalitis, sight‐threatening keratitis, and subsequent bacterial infections are all possible complications of monkeypox. An antiviral agent developed to treat smallpox has also been approved for use in the treatment of monkeypox in the United States. Vaccines used in the smallpox eradication program also provided immunity to monkeypox. Newer vaccines have been developed, one of which has been approved for monkeypox prevention. In this study, we provide information about the recent outbreaks of human monkeypox, epidemiology, transmission pattern, possible diagnosis techniques, therapeutics, and available preventive strategies.
The main goal of this integrated application is to design an intelligently controlled and automated lifebuoy that can detect living people and save them from drowning. The article gives an overview ...of the development of a battery-powered remote-control boat for various applications. The Lifebuoy is a revolutionary upgrade of an invention created 300 years ago, including a remote control, thrusters, and a battery that can be sent to someone in the water in need. It's a clever lifesaver that gives these lifebuoys a U-shape to give a person who is drowning or injured and unable to swim a good grip to keep and stay in the U-shaped area of the buoy remain.
The U-shaped lifebuoy can be moved through the water by remote control, allowing it to reach the victim quickly and bring them to safety if necessary. The U-shaped remote-controlled buoy can work in adverse conditions thanks to its navigation and guidance systems. The remote-controlled submarine buoy is a quick and effective way to save lives. Once it reaches the victim, the U-shaped buoy has enough power to carry it to safety, which can be very useful on large ships that would otherwise have to launch lifeboats. It also allows those on board to start the device without having to turn around, saving time at the beginning of a rescue operation. The waves can't stand up to the U-shaped buoy that you'll see racing by to reach your destination.
Water is a dangerous place, and despite the fact that a remote-controlled U-shaped buoy is a lifesaver, people are easy to reach. Object tracking is an important task in many image-processing applications. Optical flow is one of the most widely used image processing and video analysis techniques. This article implements an object-tracking algorithm based on the optical flow method for computation on a Raspberry Pi microcomputer. The Lucas-Kanade method was used to compute the velocity vector of an object moving between two consecutive frames.
This paper represents a face recognition mechanism carried out as part of the developing an intelligent lifebuoy. It utilises the technologies available in the Open Computer Vision (OpenCV) library and the methodology for their implementation with Python. Haar Cascades was used for face detection, and eigenfaces, fisherfaces, and local binary pattern histograms were used for face recognition. An experiment was performed to evaluate the robustness of the proposed algorithm against the new computing device. The results were encouraging for the use of the proposed real-time application in a variety of contexts.
PDF
