NeoCam: An Edge-Cloud Platform for Non-Invasive Real-Time Monitoring in Neonatal Intensive Care Units.

In this work we introduce NeoCam, an open source hardware-software platform for video-based monitoring of preterms infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). NeoCam includes an edge computing device that performs video acquisition and processing in real-time. Compared to other proposed solutions, it has the advantage of handling data more efficiently by performing most of the processing on the device, including proper anonymisation for better compliance with privacy regulations. In addition, it allows to perform various video analysis tasks of clinical interest in parallel at speeds of between 20 and 30 frames-per-second. We introduce algorithms to measure without contact the breathing rate, motor activity, body pose and emotional status of the infants. For breathing rate, our system shows good agreement with existing methods provided there is sufficient light and proper imaging conditions. Models for motor activity and stress detection are new to the best of our knowledge. NeoCam has been tested on preterms in the NICU of the University Hospital Puerta del Mar (Cádiz, Spain), and we report the lessons learned from this trial.

Effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions in nine fields of activity to decrease SARS-CoV-2 transmission (Spain, September 2020-May 2021).

Background: We estimated the association between the level of restriction in nine different fields of activity and SARS-CoV-2 transmissibility in Spain, from 15 September 2020 to 9 May 2021. Methods: A stringency index (0-1) was created for each Spanish province (n = 50) daily. A hierarchical multiplicative model was fitted. The median of coefficients across provinces (95% bootstrap confidence intervals) quantified the effect of increasing one standard deviation in the stringency index over the logarithmic return of the weekly percentage variation of the 7-days SARS-CoV-2 cumulative incidence, lagged 12 days. Results: Overall, increasing restrictions reduced SARS-CoV-2 transmission by 22% (RR = 0.78; one-sided 95%CI: 0, 0.82) in 1 week, with highest effects for culture and leisure 14% (0.86; 0, 0.98), social distancing 13% (0.87; 0, 0.95), indoor restaurants 10% (0.90; 0, 0.95) and indoor sports 6% (0.94; 0, 0.98). In a reduced model with seven fields, culture and leisure no longer had a significant effect while ceremonies decreased transmission by 5% (0.95; 0, 0.96). Models R 2 was around 70%. Conclusion: Increased restrictions decreased COVID-19 transmission. Limitations include remaining collinearity between fields, and somewhat artificial quantification of qualitative restrictions, so the exact attribution of the effect to specific areas must be done with caution.

Geometry-induced fluctuations of olfactory searches in bounded domains.

In olfactory search an immobile target emits chemical molecules at constant rate. The molecules are transported by the medium, which is assumed to be turbulent. Considering a searcher able to detect such chemical signals and whose motion follows the infotaxis strategy, we study the statistics of the first-passage time to the target when the searcher moves on a finite two-dimensional lattice of different geometries. Far from the target, where the concentration of chemicals is low, the direction of the searcher's first movement is determined by the geometry of the domain and the topology of the lattice, inducing strong fluctuations on the average search time with respect to the initial position of the searcher. The domain is partitioned in well-defined regions characterized by the direction of the first movement. If the search starts over the interface between two different regions, large fluctuations in the search time are observed.