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COVID-19 pandemic is an active epidemic disease and is evolving in various variants of SAR-COV-2. The most critical point for COVID-19 is to break the transmission chain by early detection and isolation. It necessitates monitoring human interactions using remote technologies as a proactive strategy to minimize the spread. This paper presents a framework for user behaviour recognition and localization in a heterogeneous environment leveraging artificial intelligence for COVID-19 contact tracing. This approach designed and developed a mobile application to acquire the mobile sensors (received signal strength indicator (RSSI), accelerometer, gyroscope, and speed), sensors response, and machine learning-based user behaviour classification to assess the spread of COVID-19 with better proximity detection. This paper presents a machine learning-based free-space path loss (FSPL) model to estimate the distance between users holding mobile devices. The framework considers comprehensive user interaction scenarios depending upon multiple parameters, including the randomness of a user's interaction (device-device communication), device position, environmental obstacles, and device type. This platform classifies user behaviour on a train, bus, walking, and sitting at one, two, and three-meter from the suspected patient. The proposed system outperforms existing models, estimates the distance up to three meters, and accurately classifies each user behaviour. This system can send alert notifications to all users within three meters of a person whose COVID-19 test is positive. This approach uses machine learning models and finds that the random forest classifier shows higher accuracy of 97.95% for user behaviour classification and uses the LSTM model for distance estimation from one to three meters between users with the highest accuracy of 98.07%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though COVID-19 is no longer a pandemic but rather an endemic, the epidemiological situation related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is developing at an alarming rate, impacting every corner of the world. The rapid escalation of the coronavirus has led to the scientific community engagement, continually seeking solutions to ensure the comfort and safety of society. Understanding the joint impact of medical and non-medical interventions on COVID-19 spread is essential for making public health decisions that control the pandemic. This paper introduces two novel hybrid machine-learning ensembles that combine supervised and unsupervised learning for COVID-19 data classification and regression. The study utilizes publicly available COVID-19 outbreak and potential predictive features in the USA dataset, which provides information related to the outbreak of COVID-19 disease in the US, including data from each of 3142 US counties from the beginning of the epidemic (January 2020) until June 2021. The developed hybrid hierarchical classifiers outperform single classification algorithms. The best-achieved performance metrics for the classification task were Accuracy = 0.912, ROC-AUC = 0.916, and F1-score = 0.916. The proposed hybrid hierarchical ensemble combining both supervised and unsupervised learning allows us to increase the accuracy of the regression task by 11% in terms of MSE, 29% in terms of the area under the ROC, and 43% in terms of the MPP metric. Thus, using the proposed approach, it is possible to predict the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths based on demographic, geographic, climatic, traffic, public health, social-distancing-policy adherence, and political characteristics with sufficiently high accuracy. The study reveals that virus pressure is the most important feature in COVID-19 spread for classification and regression analysis. Five other significant features were identified to have the most influence on COVID-19 spread. The combined ensembling approach introduced in this study can help policymakers design prevention and control measures to avoid or minimize public health threats in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a pandemic, the primary evaluation tool for coronavirus (COVID-19) still has serious flaws. To improve the existing situation, all facilities and tools available in this field should be used to combat the pandemic. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction is used to evaluate whether or not a person has this virus, but it cannot establish the severity of the illness. In this paper, we propose a simple, reliable, and automatic system to diagnose the severity of COVID-19 from the CT scans into three stages: mild, moderate, and severe, based on the simple segmentation method and three types of features extracted from the CT images, which are ratio of infection, statistical texture features (mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis), GLCM and GLRLM texture features. Four machine learning techniques (decision trees (DT), K-nearest neighbors (KNN), support vector machines (SVM), and Naïve Bayes) are used to classify scans. 1801 scans are divided into four stages based on the CT findings in the scans and the description file found with the datasets. Our proposed model divides into four steps: preprocessing, feature extraction, classification, and performance evaluation. Four machine learning algorithms are used in the classification step: SVM, KNN, DT, and Naive Bayes. By SVM method, the proposed model achieves 99.12%, 98.24%, 98.73%, and 99.9% accuracy for COVID-19 infection segmentation at the normal, mild, moderate, and severe stages, respectively. The area under the curve of the model is 0.99. Finally, our proposed model achieves better performance than state-of-art models. This will help the doctors know the stage of the infection and thus shorten the time and give the appropriate dose of treatment for this stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2020, novel coronavirus pneumonia has been spreading rapidly around the world, bringing tremendous pressure on medical diagnosis and treatment for hospitals. Medical imaging methods, such as computed tomography (CT), play a crucial role in diagnosing and treating COVID-19. A large number of CT images (with large volume) are produced during the CT-based medical diagnosis. In such a situation, the diagnostic judgement by human eyes on the thousands of CT images is inefficient and time-consuming. Recently, in order to improve diagnostic efficiency, the machine learning technology is being widely used in computer-aided diagnosis and treatment systems (i.e., CT Imaging) to help doctors perform accurate analysis and provide them with effective diagnostic decision support. In this paper, we comprehensively review these frequently used machine learning methods applied in the CT Imaging Diagnosis for the COVID-19, discuss the machine learning-based applications from the various kinds of aspects including the image acquisition and pre-processing, image segmentation, quantitative analysis and diagnosis, and disease follow-up and prognosis. Moreover, we also discuss the limitations of the up-to-date machine learning technology in the context of CT imaging computer-aided diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies emphasize accuracy in machine learning regression models, yet scalability and execution efficiency are often overlooked, critical for large datasets or extensive computations. This paper introduces a scalable, distributed Spark MLlib regression model through the best subset selection approach to predict Covid-19 statistics in India, demonstrating high accuracy, scalability, and execution efficiency. Notably, limited research focuses on tree-based regression, particularly gradient boost regression, in the context of the Covid-19 dataset. The proposed work optimizes regression models for accuracy and execution time on Spark clusters of varying sizes using the best subset selection approach. Evaluation encompasses Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), R2 Error for accuracy, and execution time analysis. Results indicate superior prediction accuracy in tree-based regression, with Gradient Boosted Tree Regression (GBTR) leading, and Random Forest Regression (RFR) surpassing Decision Tree Regression (DTR). Accuracy remains consistent across Python library, Spark MLlib on a single machine, and clusters of varying sizes, with Spark MLlib displaying lower execution times than Python's machine learning library on a single machine. Furthermore, execution times decrease substantially within Spark clusters, particularly for the iterative GBTR. This research uncovers scalability and execution efficiency aspects, highlighting tree-based regression's accuracy and advocating for Spark MLlib's efficacy in enhancing execution efficiency, especially across multi-node clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

So far, this pandemic has severely affected the education sector. As education undergoes a brilliant transformation with advancing technology, the digital acquisition of knowledge has yet to find widespread use - virtual exams. Faraway Proctoring offers several advantages of using manual and primarily based technology. Although this allows students to take an exam in any field with specific technical requirements, it eliminates the need for physical research centers. It is cost-effective and easy to plan, which can be challenging to manage, especially during aggressive trials. Finally, the paper discusses the performance characteristics of different styles of web-based inspection systems, along with their limitations and challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to identify the causal impact of educational human capital on social distancing behavior at workplace in Turkey using district-level data for the period of April 2020 - February 2021. We adopt a unified causal framework, predicated on domain knowledge, theory-justified constraints anda data-driven causal structure discovery using causal graphs. We answer our causal query by employing machine learning prediction algorithms; instrumental variables in the presence of latent confounding and Heckman's model in the presence of selection bias. Results show that educated regions are able to distance-work and educational human capital is a key factor in reducing workplace mobility, possibly through its impact on employment. This pattern leads to higher workplace mobility for less educated regions and translates into higher Covid-19 infection rates. The future of the pandemic lies in less educated segments of developing countries and calls for public health action to decrease its unequal and pervasive impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of data science has led to the emergence of high-dimensional datasets in machine learning. The curse of dimensionality is a significant problem caused by high-dimensional data with a small sample size. This paper proposes a novel hybrid binary dragonfly algorithm (HBDFA) in which a distance-based similarity evaluation algorithm is embedded before the dragonfly algorithm (DA) searching behavior to select the most discriminating features. The two-step feature selection mechanism of HBDFA enables the method to explore the feature space reduced by the distance-based similarity evaluation algorithm. The model was evaluated on two datasets. The first dataset contained 200 reports from 4 evenly distributed categories of Daily Mail Online: COVID-19, economy, science, and sports. The second dataset was the publicly available Spam dataset. The proposed model is compared with binary versions of four popular metaheuristic algorithms. The model achieved an accuracy rate of 96.75% by reducing 66.5% of the top 100 features determined on the first dataset. Results on the Spam dataset reveal that HBDFA gives the best classification results with over 95% accuracy. The experimental results show the superiority of HBDFA in searching high-dimensional data, improving classification results, and reducing the number of selected features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep Learning and Machine Learning are becoming more and more popular as their algorithms get progressively better, and their use is expected to have the large effect on improving the health care system. Also, the pandemic was a chance to show how adding AI to healthcare infrastructure could help, since infrastructures around the world are overworked and falling apart. These new technologies can be used to fight COVID-19 because they are flexible and can be changed. Based on these facts, we looked at how the ML and DL-based models can be used to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic problem and what the pros and cons of each are. This paper gives a full look at the different ways to find COVID-19. We looked at the COVID-19 issues in a systematic way and then rated the methods and techniques for finding it based on their availability, ease of use, accuracy, and cost. We have also shown in pictures how well each of the detection techniques works. We did a comparison of different detection models based on the above factors. This helps researchers understand the different methods and the pros and cons of using them as the basis for their research. In the last part, we talk about the open challenges and research questions that come with putting these techniques together with other detection methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 is an infectious respiratory disease that has had a significant impact, resulting in a range of outcomes including recovery, continued health issues, and the loss of life. Among those who have recovered, many experience negative health effects, particularly influenced by demographic factors such as gender and age, as well as physiological and neurological factors like sleep patterns, emotional states, anxiety, and memory. This research aims to explore various health factors affecting different demographic profiles and establish significant correlations among physiological and neurological factors in the post-COVID-19 state. To achieve these objectives, we have identified the post-COVID-19 health factors and based on these factors survey data were collected from COVID-recovered patients in Bangladesh. Employing diverse machine learning algorithms, we utilised the best prediction model for post-COVID-19 factors. Initial findings from statistical analysis were further validated using Chi-square to demonstrate significant relationships among these elements. Additionally, Pearson's coefficient was utilized to indicate positive or negative associations among various physiological and neurological factors in the post-COVID-19 state. Finally, we determined the most effective machine learning model and identified key features using analytical methods such as the Gini Index, Feature Coefficients, Information Gain, and SHAP Value Assessment. And found that the Decision Tree model excelled in identifying crucial features while predicting the extent of post-COVID-19 impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus belongs to the family of Coronaviridae. It is responsible for COVID-19 communicable disease, which has affected 213 countries and territories worldwide. Researchers in computational fields have been active in proposing techniques to filter the information and recommendations about this disease and provide surveillance in controlling this outbreak. Researchers used Chest X-ray images, abdominal Computed Tomography scans, and Tweet datasets for building machine learning and deep learning-based models for COVID-19 predictions and forecasting purposes. Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, precision, and F1-measure are the five primary evaluation criteria researchers employ to evaluate the quality of their study. This article summarises research works on COVID-19 based on machine learning and deep learning models. The analysis of these research works, along with their limitations and source of datasets, will give a quick start for future research to arrive at a defined direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 epidemic has surely disrupted daily life and resulted in unexpected shifts that have resulted in serious psychological reactions and mental health crises. In the early days of COVID-19, little was known about it, which understandably generates worry and distress, especially for those of us who suffer from anxiety disorders. In the early phases of the pandemic, there were large volume of calls to emergency lines, thus it was critical to divert non-emergency inquiries regarding the disease, particularly those looking for information, and to offer help for emergency calls about "breathing difficulty" and "person collapsing". It became vital to distinguish between emergency and non-emergency calls. This study examines the call content of calls landed in the emergency response support system during the pandemic and help in categorising the calls as "emergency" or "non-emergency" based on call content related to pandemic. The proposed model is a Hadamard product-based pretrained ensemble model of RoBERTa and XLNet using the ERSS dataset. The performance of the HPRXF proposed model is evaluated using the Hadamard product of the final probability vectors of the RoBERTa and XLNet models. The HPRXF Model outperforms existing models with an accuracy: 81.16% and an F1-score: 80.66%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital transformation process in organizations has accelerated significantly in recent years; the COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst that highlighted the need for digitalization in all sectors. In the case of the health sector, this process is complex due to the processes inherent in health care as well as the integration of multiple sectors that allow the provision of health services. A first approach towards the construction of a Digital Twin in health organizations is a Digital Shadow that allows an orderly transition towards digital operation in real time. This paper presents a first approach to the design of a Digital Shadow for the health insurance sector and specifically for the care of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 through the implementation of an analytical intelligence system based on machine learning models to forecast and monitor to patients who represent catastrophic cases for the insurer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]