scholarly journals Face Masks as a Factor in Eventuality of Changes in Driving Safety

2022 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 118-125
Author(s):  
A. B. Neuzorava ◽  
S. V. Skirkovsky

During the COVID-19, pandemics or worsening virus situation, taxi and regular-route bus drivers are recommended to work in medical masks. However, the quantitative and qualitative influence of wearing protective face masks on safety of driving vehicles has not been previously studied. Therefore, this became the objective of preliminary studies to determine the specifics of the influence of a face protective mask on the change in psychophysiological qualities of a car driver as a factor in safety eventuality under urban traffic conditions.The method of an open-ended survey of 108 healthy adult drivers was used to obtain a quantitative subjective assessment of the effect of face masks on changing driving safety conditions and a comfortable emotional state while driving. A qualitative analysis of assessment of the level of psychophysiological qualities of drivers wearing and not wearing a face mask was carried out using Meleti hardware-software complex.A sharp decrease in neuropsychic functions with a simultaneous increase in quality of thinking and visual analysis of the traffic situation was revealed regarding the drivers wearing a face protective mask compared to those driving without a mask while the level of psychomotor reaction remains unchanged regardless of the gender of the driver.The subjective assessment of survey participants of the effect of a face mask on professionally important, psychophysiological characteristics of drivers revealed a significant (41,7 %) or insignificant (20,4 %) decrease in reaction, while 38 % of drivers did not notice significant changes in driving because of the effect of the mask.Based on these results, it is assumed that the face mask may serve as a predictor of a road pre-accident situation.To assess the effect of the face mask on the driver, a coefficient of eventuality of reducing road safety is proposed. It is recommended to use it as an additional factor in a situational pandemic environment when developing recommendations for the use of face masks for car and bus drivers, and when analysing the causes of road accidents. 

Author(s):  
Yatharth Khansali

COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world severely, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has globally infected over 176 million people causing over 3.8 million deaths. Wearing a protective mask has become a norm. However, it is seen in most public places that people do not wear masks or don’t wear them properly. In this paper, we propose a high accuracy and efficient face mask detector based on MobileNet architecture. The proposed method detects the face in real-time with OpenCV and then identifies if it has a mask on it or not. As a surveillance task, it supports motion, and is trained using transfer learning and compared in terms of both precision and efficiency, with special attention to the real-time requirements of this context.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Balkiz Yapicioglu ◽  
Liudmila Cazacova

Visiting Oman, one firstly encounters wide roads and exaggerated decorations of house façades—situated behind high walls. These broad roads and decorated dwellings are unlike traditional Omani architecture which can be identified as very sensitive to scale and climate. Omani architecture can also be visualized from the narrow streets and low height buildings across many well-preserved villages; built using humble mud or stone structures. Another encounter one might have is the traditional ‘Omani burqa.’ It is worn by some Omani women, originally designed for protection from dust and sand, which mimics the features of a falcon. Lately, the ‘Omani burqa’ has developed into a true fashion-item and is used as a ‘face mask’ with different colors and shapes. Fashionable burqas are often decorated with shimmering crystals or diamonds which differs from the traditional design. What is visible behind the ‘burqa’, the ‘eye’, and the ‘burqa’ itself, become quite embellished, subsiding the importance of the other parts of the face. The façade design of a modern Omani house and its walls are like the modern ‘burqa’ and the ‘eye’. Even though the house is separated from the street by high walls, the importance of visual access from the street to façade can be perceived from the highly decorated house façades, and decorated walls at the same time. This study—using visual analysis of house façades in Salalah, Oman—attempts to identify the architectural elements used in architectural design. These elements are repeated all over Oman, to accentuate visibility from the street to the façade. Eventually, the study concludes that the importance of the visuality from the street to the façade, in a changing ‘closed’ society, is the leading factor for the embellishment of the wall and the façades, rendering the overall design behind the wall insignificant.


Author(s):  
Ioannis Fykaris ◽  
Vasiliki Matiaki ◽  
Despoina-Chrysovalantou Geroulidou

Aims: The purpose of the article is to highlight the factors affected by the use of the mask in special situations, like the one of the covid-19 pandemic. With the research of social, educational and psychological factors, evidence and conditions emerge, which deteriorate the psychic and social children’s life, studying in the formal education. The aim is to be understandable the significance of the person and his elevation in the modern educational and social reality, in an area where the use of mask is essential. Methodology: The examination of the topics in this article follows the characteristics of the interdisciplinary approach. The article develops the consequences of using a protective mask in the educational, social and theological field. The approach is interdisciplinary, attempting to theoretically substantiate the issue, in order to lead to exploratory approaches to the issue within the scientific community. Therefore, this article does not refer to any research conducted by the authors, but the main interest is in structuring those factors that make the face mask a means of depersonalizing people, as a form of learned behavior, which is attempted to be acquired in the teacher environment. For this reason, this article is not presented structurally in the form of research presentation articles, quantitative or qualitative, but is developed as a theoretical research article in the field of paper review. Conclusion: During the covid-19 pandemic, the use of a mask interferes with the effective communication and teaching relationship, which can lead to depersonalization. The concealment of facial features has socio-emotional consequences which disrupt the interpersonal relationships of learners. The educator must perceive the learner as a “person” and focus on his development. The didactic act should be based on the treatment of the learners as individuals, a fact that will restore the balance and increase their adaptive capacity towards the threat of depersonalization.


Author(s):  
A. G. Belova ◽  
E. V. Zimina ◽  
N. P. Simbirtsev

During a pathoanatomic autopsy, it is very important to correctly assess the color change of the organs. However, it is not always clear because the color depends on the spectrum of the incident light. There is also a subjective assessment of color. In addition, in animals with large amounts of circulating blood, for example, dogs, early imbibition occurs, which makes it difficult to assess the color of the organ and pathoanatomical diagnosis. We have proposed a simple and visual method of recognition of two pathological processes – inflammation and edema using colored filters. This technique also allows to accurately differentiate inflammation from postmortem imbibition, to recognize fibrin and hemorrhage well. Postmortem examination of different types of animals (predacious families of mustelids, canids, felids) was performed in accordance with Shore’s method in the prosectorium of the Pathonomy Department, K.I. Skryabin Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology visual analysis – under various artificial lights (fluorescent lamps with banded spectrum and halogen lamps). In the red filter are well identified the pathological processes associated with the venous blood presence in the tissues (venous hyperemia and pulmonary edema). The focus of venous hyperemia or edema in the red filter looks like a dark zone, and tissues, where arterial bloods predominated, aren’t detected in red filter. In the yellow – green filter the inflammation is clearly detected: the zone is brightly red and surrounding tissues become dark. Red colour filters have rather narrow band of transmittance from 600 to 700 nm. Yellow-green have a width zone – from 500 to 700 nm, including both red, and yellow-green part of spectrum. Oxidized hemoglobin in red part of spectrum absorbs ten time weaker, has more high reflectivity and looks red. Surrounding tissues reflect the red rays, which incident on them also red. Therefore, the zone of edema, venous hyperemia and hemorrhaging, containing venous blood, are detected the dark spot, and inflammation zone merges with the red background. Oxidized hemoglobin in the red spectrum part absorbs ten time weaker than reduced hemoglobin, has high reflectivity of the red spectrum part and looks brightly red, surrounding tissues reflect yellow-green spectrum part and look green. Therefore, the zones of inflammation, active hyperemia and hemorrhaging, containing arterial blood, sharp contrast with green background and are clearly visible. Diagnoses made with the help of color filters are confirmed by histological studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 177
Author(s):  
Haochen Zou ◽  
Keyan Cao ◽  
Chong Jiang

Urban road traffic spatio-temporal characters reflect how citizens move and how goods are transported, which is crucial for trip planning, traffic management, and urban design. Video surveillance camera plays an important role in intelligent transport systems (ITS) for recognizing license plate numbers. This paper proposes a spatio-temporal visualization method to discover urban road vehicle density, city-wide regional vehicle density, and hot routes using license plate number data recorded by video surveillance cameras. To improve the accuracy of the visualization effect, during data analysis and processing, this paper utilized Internet crawler technology and adopted an outlier detection algorithm based on the Dixon detection method. In the design of the visualization map, this paper established an urban road vehicle traffic index to intuitively and quantitatively reveal the traffic operation situation of the area. To verify the feasibility of the method, an experiment in Guiyang on data from road video surveillance camera system was conducted. Multiple urban traffic spatial and temporal characters are recognized concisely and efficiently from three visualization maps. The results show the satisfactory performance of the proposed framework in terms of visual analysis, which will facilitate traffic management and operation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Catching ◽  
Sara Capponi ◽  
Ming Te Yeh ◽  
Simone Bianco ◽  
Raul Andino

AbstractCOVID-19’s high virus transmission rates have caused a pandemic that is exacerbated by the high rates of asymptomatic and presymptomatic infections. These factors suggest that face masks and social distance could be paramount in containing the pandemic. We examined the efficacy of each measure and the combination of both measures using an agent-based model within a closed space that approximated real-life interactions. By explicitly considering different fractions of asymptomatic individuals, as well as a realistic hypothesis of face masks protection during inhaling and exhaling, our simulations demonstrate that a synergistic use of face masks and social distancing is the most effective intervention to curb the infection spread. To control the pandemic, our models suggest that high adherence to social distance is necessary to curb the spread of the disease, and that wearing face masks provides optimal protection even if only a small portion of the population comply with social distance. Finally, the face mask effectiveness in curbing the viral spread is not reduced if a large fraction of population is asymptomatic. Our findings have important implications for policies that dictate the reopening of social gatherings.


2021 ◽  
pp. 194173812110282
Author(s):  
Ayami Yoshihara ◽  
Erin E. Dierickx ◽  
Gabrielle J. Brewer ◽  
Yasuki Sekiguchi ◽  
Rebecca L. Stearns ◽  
...  

Background: While increased face mask use has helped reduce COVID-19 transmission, there have been concerns about its influence on thermoregulation during exercise in the heat, but consistent, evidence-based recommendations are lacking. Hypothesis: No physiological differences would exist during low-to-moderate exercise intensity in the heat between trials with and without face masks, but perceptual sensations could vary. Study Design: Crossover study. Level of Evidence: Level 2. Methods: Twelve physically active participants (8 male, 4 female; age = 24 ± 3 years) completed 4 face mask trials and 1 control trial (no mask) in the heat (32.3°C ± 0.04°C; 54.4% ± 0.7% relative humidity [RH]). The protocol was 60 minutes of walking and jogging between 35% and 60% of relative VO2max. Rectal temperature (Trec), heart rate (HR), temperature and humidity inside and outside of the face mask (Tmicro_in, Tmicro_out, RHmicro_in, RHmicro_out) and perceptual variables (rating of perceived exertion (RPE), thermal sensation, thirst sensation, fatigue level, and overall breathing discomfort) were monitored throughout all trials. Results: Mean Trec and HR increased at 30- and 60-minute time points compared with 0-minute time points, but no difference existed between face mask trials and control trials ( P > 0.05). Mean Tmicro_in, RHmicro_in, and humidity difference inside and outside of the face mask (ΔRHmicro) were significantly different between face mask trials ( P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in perceptual variables between face mask trials and control trials ( P > 0.05), except overall breathing discomfort ( P < 0.01). Higher RHmicro_in, RPE, and thermal sensation significantly predicted higher overall breathing discomfort ( r2 = 0.418; P < 0.01). Conclusion: Face mask use during 60 minutes of low-to-moderate exercise intensity in the heat did not significantly affect Trec or HR. Although face mask use may affect overall breathing discomfort due to the changes in the face mask microenvironment, face mask use itself did not cause an increase in whole body thermal stress. Clinical Relevance: Face mask use is feasible and safe during exercise in the heat, at low-to-moderate exercise intensities, for physically active, healthy individuals.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 4829
Author(s):  
Vojtech Chmelík ◽  
Daniel Urbán ◽  
Lukáš Zelem ◽  
Monika Rychtáriková

In this paper, with the aim of assessing the deterioration of speech intelligibility caused by a speaker wearing a mask, different face masks (surgical masks, FFP2 mask, homemade textile-based protection and two kinds of plastic shields) are compared in terms of their acoustic filtering effect, measured by placing the mask on an artificial head/mouth simulator. For investigating the additional effects on the speaker’s vocal output, speech was also recorded while people were reading a text when wearing a mask, and without a mask. In order to discriminate between effects of acoustic filtering by the mask and mask-induced effects of vocal output changes, the latter was monitored by measuring vibrations at the suprasternal notch, using an attached accelerometer. It was found that when wearing a mask, people tend to slightly increase their voice level, while when wearing plastic face shield, they reduce their vocal power. Unlike the Lombard effect, no significant change was found in the spectral content. All face mask and face shields attenuate frequencies above 1–2 kHz. In addition, plastic shields also increase frequency components to around 800 Hz, due to resonances occurring between the face and the shield. Finally, special attention was given to the Slavic languages, in particular Slovak, which contain a large variety of sibilants. Male and female speech, as well as texts with and without sibilants, was compared.


Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 462
Author(s):  
Archana R. Deokar ◽  
Ilana Perelshtein ◽  
Melissa Saibene ◽  
Nina Perkas ◽  
Paride Mantecca ◽  
...  

Simultaneous water and ethanol-based synthesis and coating of copper and zinc oxide (CuO/ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) on bandages was carried out by ultrasound irradiation. High resolution-transmission electron microscopy demonstrated the effects of the solvent on the particle size and shape of metal oxide NPs. An antibacterial activity study of metal-oxide-coated bandages was carried out against Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative). CuO NP-coated bandages made from both water and ethanol demonstrated complete killing of S. aureus and E. coli bacteria within 30 min., whereas ZnO NP-coated bandages demonstrated five-log reductions in viability for both kinds of bacteria after 60 min of interaction. Further, the antibacterial mechanism of CuO/ZnO NP-coated bandages is proposed here based on electron spin resonance studies. Nanotoxicology investigations were conducted via in vivo examinations of the effect of the metal-oxide bandages on frog embryos (teratogenesis assay—Xenopus). The results show that water-based coatings resulted in lesser impacts on embryo development than the ethanol-based ones. These bandages should therefore be considered safer than the ethanol-based ones. The comparison between the toxicity of the metal oxide NPs prepared in water and ethanol is of great importance, because water will replace ethanol for bulk scale synthesis of metal oxide NPs in commercial companies to avoid further ignition problems. The novelty and importance of this manuscript is avoiding the ethanol in the typical water:ethanol mixture as the solvent for the preparation of metal oxide NPs. Ethanol is ignitable, and commercial companies are trying the evade its use. This is especially important these days, as the face mask produced by sonochemistry (SONOMASK) is being sold all over the world by SONOVIA, and it is coated with ZnO.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 3495
Author(s):  
Shabir Hussain ◽  
Yang Yu ◽  
Muhammad Ayoub ◽  
Akmal Khan ◽  
Rukhshanda Rehman ◽  
...  

The spread of COVID-19 has been taken on pandemic magnitudes and has already spread over 200 countries in a few months. In this time of emergency of COVID-19, especially when there is still a need to follow the precautions and developed vaccines are not available to all the developing countries in the first phase of vaccine distribution, the virus is spreading rapidly through direct and indirect contacts. The World Health Organization (WHO) provides the standard recommendations on preventing the spread of COVID-19 and the importance of face masks for protection from the virus. The excessive use of manual disinfection systems has also become a source of infection. That is why this research aims to design and develop a low-cost, rapid, scalable, and effective virus spread control and screening system to minimize the chances and risk of spread of COVID-19. We proposed an IoT-based Smart Screening and Disinfection Walkthrough Gate (SSDWG) for all public places entrance. The SSDWG is designed to do rapid screening, including temperature measuring using a contact-free sensor and storing the record of the suspected individual for further control and monitoring. Our proposed IoT-based screening system also implemented real-time deep learning models for face mask detection and classification. This module classified individuals who wear the face mask properly, improperly, and without a face mask using VGG-16, MobileNetV2, Inception v3, ResNet-50, and CNN using a transfer learning approach. We achieved the highest accuracy of 99.81% while using VGG-16 and the second highest accuracy of 99.6% using MobileNetV2 in the mask detection and classification module. We also implemented classification to classify the types of face masks worn by the individuals, either N-95 or surgical masks. We also compared the results of our proposed system with state-of-the-art methods, and we highly suggested that our system could be used to prevent the spread of local transmission and reduce the chances of human carriers of COVID-19.


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