Deep Learning-Based Robotic Perception for Adaptive Facility Disinfection

Hospitals, schools, airports, and other environments built for mass gatherings can become hot spots for microbial pathogen colonization, transmission, and exposure, greatly accelerating the spread of infectious diseases across communities, cities, nations, and the world. Outbreaks of infectious diseases impose huge burdens on our society. Mitigating the spread of infectious pathogens within mass-gathering facilities requires routine cleaning and disinfection, which are primarily performed by cleaning staff under current practice. However, manual disinfection is limited in terms of both effectiveness and efficiency, as it is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and health-undermining. While existing studies have developed a variety of robotic systems for disinfecting contaminated surfaces, those systems are not adequate for intelligent, precise, and environmentally adaptive disinfection. They are also difficult to deploy in mass-gathering infrastructure facilities, given the high volume of occupants. Therefore, there is a critical need to develop an adaptive robot system capable of complete and efficient indoor disinfection. The overarching goal of this research is to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled robotic system that adapts to ambient environments and social contexts for precise and efficient disinfection. This would maintain environmental hygiene and health, reduce unnecessary labor costs for cleaning, and mitigate opportunity costs incurred from infections. To these ends, this dissertation first develops a multi-classifier decision fusion method, which integrates scene graph and visual information, in order to recognize patterns in human activity in infrastructure facilities. Next, a deep-learning-based method is proposed for detecting and classifying indoor objects, and a new mechanism is developed to map detected objects in 3D maps. A novel framework is then developed to detect and segment object affordance and to project them into a 3D semantic map for precise disinfection. Subsequently, a novel deep-learning network, which integrates multi-scale features and multi-level features, and an encoder network are developed to recognize the materials of surfaces requiring disinfection. Finally, a novel computational method is developed to link the recognition of object surface information to robot disinfection actions with optimal disinfection parameters

Epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis in rural Malawi

A hospital and community based study was conducted in Malawi, within a rural population over a 23 month period, to identify the incidence, causative species and possible determinants for cryptosporidiosis in under fives. 5.9% (25/423) of samples collected were positive for Cryptosporidium oocysts of which 18 amplified by PCR-RFLP indicating the following species: C. hominis, C. parvum, C. meleagridis and C. andersoni. Consenting positive cases were included in a case control study. 96 home interviews were conducted in 24 communities (cases n=24; unmatched controls n=72). A total of 61 risk factors were investigated with a questionnaire, and combined with quantitative data from samples of domesticated animal stools and drinking water. Oocysts were not isolated from domesticated animals or water samples. Multivariate logistic regression of questionnaire data revealed an increased risk of cryptosporidiosis associated with ownership of pigs (OR 7.2, 95%CI 1.9–27.5, p=0.004), presence of diarrhoea in the household (OR 8.8, 95%CI 1.8–53.4, p=0.008), bathing in the river (OR 76.7, 95%CI 1.1–23.8, p=0.037) and no education within the household (OR 3.6, 95%CI 1.1–11.8, p=0.038). Bacteriological results indicating faecal contamination of both drinking water stored within the home (76%), and the surface of guardians’ hands (75%) were indicative of poor hygienic practices and potential sources of infection

Control and prevention of infectious diseases from a One Health perspective

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caught the attention of the global community and rekindled the debate about our ability to prevent and manage outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics. Many alternatives are suggested to address these urgent issues. Some of them are quite interesting, but with little practical application in the short or medium term. To realistically control infectious diseases, human, animal, and environmental factors need to be considered together, based on the One Health perspective. In this article, we highlight the most effective initiatives for the control and prevention of infectious diseases: vaccination; environmental sanitation; vector control; social programs that encourage a reduction in the population growth; control of urbanization; safe sex stimulation; testing; treatment of sexually and vertically transmitted infections; promotion of personal hygiene practices; food safety and proper nutrition; reduction of the human contact with wildlife and livestock; reduction of social inequalities; infectious disease surveillance; and biodiversity preservation. Subsequently, this article highlights the impacts of human genetics on susceptibility to infections and disease progression, using the SARS-CoV-2 infection as a study model. Finally, actions focused on mitigation of outbreaks and epidemics and the importance of conservation of ecosystems and translational ecology as public health strategies are also discussed

Wastewater irrigation and health: assessing and mitigating risk in low-income countries

Wastewater irrigation / Public health / Health hazards / Risk assessment / Epidemiology / Sewage sludge / Excreta / Diseases / Vegetables / Leaf vegetables / Economic impact / Wastewater treatment / Irrigation methods / Developing countries

Psychological Case Record

DIAGNOSTIC CLARIFICATION: PERSISTENT SOMATOFORM PAIN DISORDER: Ms. M.S. presented with a 3 year history of refusing to go to school. Her performance started deteriorating and attendance started falling to below 20%. She started having less interaction with her family and friends. For the last 7 months she started complaining of pain in her feet starting from her toes and gradually progressing proximally. She stopped going to school altogether and started having crying spells frequently. She had been extensively evaluated by various specialists and no medical cause was found for the symptoms and hence she was referred to Child Psychiatry. PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT: HISTRIONIC PERSONALITY DISORDER: The patient is premorbidly described as a very adamant child, very short tempered. She presented with a 11/2 month history of sudden episodes of severe headache followed by stomache and then becoming unaware of her surroundings. Following this she has some altered behavior like shouting and abusing which settles immediately on taking a painkiller. This was precipitated by her Mathematics teacher making a remark about her work and giving her less marks on a project compared to a classmate. Recently the episodes would occur even on the slightest remark form her parents, teachers or friends. She was noticed to be more irritable, demanding of time and attention from her family, teachers and friends. ASSESSMENT OF COMPROMISED INTELLIGENCE: PROFOUND DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY: She has had delayed developmental milestones since birth. Currently she does not talk and has no self care skills. She does not communicate her needs and is fully dependent for self care activities. She started having generalized tonic clonic seizures since 8 months of age and has been on anti epileptic drugs since the past 4 months only. The seizures have continued , her last episode of seizure was 5 days ago. There was no history suggestive of any psychiatric morbidity. DIAGNOSTIC CLARIFICATION: OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER: BIPOLAR DISORDER: Mr. A.L. was apparently well till 2 years ago when he was noticed to be preoccupied a lot of the times. His performance in school started deteriorating slowly. He complained of reduced concentration in studies and reduced memory. He was taken to a psychiatrist where he complained that he had increased sexual thoughts related to watching sexual content in movies. He also complained that he was unable to focus on his academics due to this. Sometimes his finger would get paralyzed due to this and he was unable to write or do any work. He had disturbed sleep and appetite secondary to these problems. NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT: POST ENCEPHALITIC SYNDROME: Ms. S.P. was apparently well till 2 months ago when she suddenly developed high grade fever with severe holocranial headache along with vomiting, which was followed by 3 episodes of generalized tonic clonic seizures. Since then she has been having multiple episodes of seizures. Also she was noticed to have abnormal behavior like shouting without any reason or provocation, anger outbursts and irritability. She was also noticed to have disinhibited behavior. She was noticed to be very restless, constantly pacing up and down and complaining of vague fear, occasionally muttering to herself and gesturing. Her sleep and appetite had markedly reduced. There was no history suggestive of mood disorder, anxiety or obsessive compulsive symptoms

Resilience in the Gaze of Ebola: Analysis from a Developing Country

Many studies have looked at resilience during natural disasters and national emergencies in a number of countries but hardly any have concentrated on developing countries and the implications of these nations’ sub-standard healthcare infrastructure, culture practices and relaxed control systems. This paper examines resilience during Liberia’s recent EBOLA epidemic and identifies lessons to be learned by others including executives of Non-Governmental Organizations frequently working on disaster relief projects in developing countries. The author builds on existing bodies of work and presents arguments on why governments in developing countries dealing with disaster management and disease emergencies should encourage communities to innovate autonomously as an important pathway to resilience. While the author does not provide specific recommendations, the paper proposes an approach that can connect the concerns of those implementing resilience initiatives and vulnerable populations by harnessing their potential for innovating autonomousl

A holistic exploration of risk factors and transmission pathways to enteric infections in infants. A case study in rural tribal Rajasthan, India

Globally, enteric infections are the third leading cause of child mortality, and they contribute to child malnutrition and stunting. Safe Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) should interrupt infection transmission; however, recent WASH trials have shown little impact on child infections and growth outcomes. This thesis addresses the need to better understand the multiple and complex factors contributing to infants’ enteric infections, adopting a holistic, interdisciplinary approach. A mixed-methods case study was conducted in 9 tribal villages of Rajasthan, India. Qualitative data were collected from 9 transect walks, 63 hours of household observations, 12 interviews, and 4 group discussions with infant caregivers and were analysed thematically. Quantitative data were collected from 42 household surveys, 47 structured infant observations, and 316 environmental samples tested for faecal bacteria and analysed in a microbial risk assessment. Multiple cross-sectoral factors contributing to infants’ enteric infections were observed: an arid climate, earthen households, domestic animals, no toilet facilities or handwashing with soap habits, weak governance systems, low emphasis on WASH promotion and infection risk awareness health services, limited livelihood opportunities, and tribal attitudes of limited self-efficacy. Faecal contamination was widespread, with 90% of environmental samples positive for faecal bacteria. Risk assessment results estimated that by their second birthday, infants had a median accumulated risk of enteric infection of over 71% from drinking and bathing in local waters and 100% infection risk from mouthing soil while crawling on the earthen floors. Tailored recommendations to enhance infant hygiene and infection prevention were co-developed with local stakeholders. This thesis provides in-depth ground-level evidence from tribal communities in rural India. Given the multifaceted factors contributing to infants’ enteric infections and the widespread faecal contamination, transformational changes across sectors will be required to improve child health and development. Enabling the tribal communities’ self-efficacy may be crucial for future efforts towards the Sustainable Development Goals

Emerging Threats of Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology

Synthetic biology is a field of biotechnology that is rapidly growing in various applications, such as in medicine, environmental sustainability, and energy production. However these technologies also have unforeseen risks and applications to humans and the environment. This open access book presents discussions on risks and mitigation strategies for these technologies including biosecurity, or the potential of synthetic biology technologies and processes to be deliberately misused for nefarious purposes. The book presents strategies to prevent, mitigate, and recover from ‘dual-use concern’ biosecurity challenges that may be raised by individuals, rogue states, or non-state actors. Several key topics are explored including opportunities to develop more coherent and scalable approaches to govern biosecurity from a laboratory perspective up to the international scale and strategies to prevent potential health and environmental hazards posed by deliberate misuse of synthetic biology without stifling innovation. The book brings together the expertise of top scholars in synthetic biology and biotechnology risk assessment, management, and communication to discuss potential biosecurity governing strategies and offer perspectives for collaboration in oversight and future regulatory guidance