ABSTRACT
Background: The outcome of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is complicated by various comorbidities;asthma, a common chronic disease, may be considered one of these conditions. This study aimed to investigate the effect of asthma as a potential comorbid condition on the COVID-19 prognosis. Material(s) and Method(s): This retrospective study included all RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded on the Shiraz health department's electronic database from January to May 2020. A questionnaire was designed to collect information about patients' demographics, their history of asthma and other comorbidities, and the severity of COVID-19 by contacting them by phone. Result(s): Of 3163 COVID-19 patients, 109 (3.4%) had self-reported asthma with a mean age of 42.7 +/- 19.1 years. Most patients (98%) had mild-to-moderate asthma, while 2% had severe disease. Among asthmatic patients, fourteen (12.8%) were admitted to the hospital, and five (4.6%) died. Univariate logistic regression results showed that asthma had no significant effect on hospitalization (OR 0.95, 95% CI: 0.54-1.63) and mortality (OR 1.18, 95% CI: 0.48-2.94) in patients with COVID-19. Compared living and deceased patients with COVID-19, the pooled OR was 18.2 (95% CI: 7.3-40.1) for cancer, 13.5 (95% CI: 8.2-22.5) for age 40-70 years, 3.1 (95% CI: 2-4.8) for hypertension, 3.1 (95% CI: 1.8-5.3) for cardiac disease and 2.1 (95% CI: 1.3-3.5) for diabetes mellitus. Conclusion(s): This study showed that asthma is not associated with an increased risk of hospitalization and mortality in patients with COVID-19. Further studies are needed to investigate the risk of different asthma phenotypes on the severity of COVID-19 disease.Copyright © 2022 NRITLD,.
ABSTRACT
The current COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased psychological issues such as excessive social media networking sites usage (SMNSU), loneliness, social anxiety, and depression. In this quantitative study, we examined how SMNSU can directly and indirectly influence depression, with loneliness and social anxiety examined as mediator variables. A 39-item questionnaire was used to collect survey data on SMNSU, loneliness, social anxiety, and depression from 244 blended learning undergraduate students from universities in the Hunan province in China. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was conducted using SmartPLS 3.3.3 to measure the relationships between the stated variables of interest. Results indicated that SMNSU has a direct, significant, and positive relationship with depression. In terms of mediating effects, both loneliness and social anxiety have an intervening role in the association between SMNSU and depression. This study focused on the higher education sector of China by recruiting students who were enrolled in blended learning courses during the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing psychological problems. We found that excessive SMNSU is associated with depression. Loneliness and social anxiety also increase depression along with excessive SMNSU among blended learning students during unprecedented situations, in this case, the COVID-19 pandemic. The valuable implications of these findings for teachers, counselors, and university managers are discussed, along with a consideration of future research directions.
ABSTRACT
Quality assurance in education has been a critical issue in both private and public higher education in all emerging economies since World War II. Available theories on quality education are numerous, but their strategic models are sparsely sustained. The main objective of this study is, therefore, to articulate and to empirically test a conceptual model to assure and sustain quality in tertiary education grounding on a theory base presented by Chohen and Ball (2006). The model has three parts: independent components, i.e., quality inputs such as quality teachers, quality students, and quality staffs;mediating component, i.e., quality process such as quality programs;and target component, i.e., quality product such as quality education. Data (n = 97 private universities) were gathered from a report of the university grant commission (UGC), Bangladesh. The data were analysed following PLS-SEM using SmartPLS3 and SPSS software. Findings indicate that all of the predictors appear to be robust in predicting quality education. The results also indicate that the mediating construct has a significant partial mediating role in enhancing quality education in private universities. These outcomes will help academic authorities formulate the right policy option in assuring quality education in higher education institutes in Bangladesh.
ABSTRACT
The banking sector can take advantage of the proliferation of online banking as well as government's reinforcement of cashless transactions to expedite the usage of branchless banking. The prime objective of this study is to examine the factors that affect rural people's bounded rational intention toward branchless banking conduct during this Corona Pandemic in Bangladesh. In doing so, the theory of bounded rational intention was used as its theoretical background. Data (n = 390) were collected from the people residing in the rural areas surrounding branchless banking booths where no branch banking services are available. Data were analyzed employing structural equation modeling by AMOS software. The findings of the study indicate that all factors are positively significant to influence the rural people's bounded rational intention toward branchless banking behavior. The results also show that trustworthiness and normative structure exhibit the highest positive significance to influence people's bounded rational intention. It implies that the agents ought to be trustworthy for popularizing the branchless banking services in the rural areas. The outputs of this study provide insight into branchless banking services which will help banks and financial institutions formulate right policy on branchless banking strategy.
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Background & Objective: The recent surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases has exposed health care workers (HCWs) to a wide range of psychological stressors and predisposed them to anxiety-related disorders. In this study, we observed the anxiety level in this population. Materials & Methods: This multicenter, cross-sectional study was performed on 1,038 HCWs in 14 hospitals of Tehran during the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2020, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) was used to measure the level of anxiety in this population. Results: The mean±SD age of participants was 36.30±8.23 years old. Most participants were 31 to 40 years old (43.2), female (87.6%), and nurses (49.5%). The BAI scores of the participants were in a positive skew distribution, with a score range of 0-63, a median of 12, and a mean value of 15.30±11.43. Out of 1,038 hospital staff, 411 (39.6%) had moderate to severe anxiety. The anxiety level was significantly higher in HCWs ≤40 years old, women, and nurses. However, there was no significant relationship between stress levels among frontline workers compared to second-line workers (P=0.82). Conclusion: It seems that HCWs experienced a high level of anxiety in the COVID-19 outbreak. One of the critical measures in every epidemic is to provide supportive care to maintain the mental well-being of HCWs, especially in high-risk groups, including younger HCWs, women, and nurses. © 2022 The authors,.
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Introduction: The current study presents a systematic review of literature on surgical management of ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) alongside an ongoing cohort study of neonates presenting with high grades of hydronephrosis due to UPJO requiring urgent treatment in a developing country amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy and cost effectiveness of laparoscopic-assisted pyeloplasty. Methods: Patients' demographics, clinical presentations and treatment outcomes are recorded. The cohort is classified into 3 groups based on type of surgical treatment offered including open, laparoscopic and laparoscopic-assisted pyeloplasty. All patients admitted with grade 3-4 hydronephrosis due to UPJO are included. Patients with UPJO as part of a complex multisystemic syndrome are excluded. Literature review was conducted from 2000/1/1 to 2020/1/1 to include all original research papers on surgical management of UPJO. The age group was limited to neonates (under 1 year-old). Results: 32 articles were included in the review. 20 papers (62.5%) recommended open pyeloplasty, 10 papers (31.3%) recommended laparoscopic pyeloplasty and 2 papers (6.25%) recommended laparoscopic-assisted pyeloplasty. The cohort study is currently recruiting patients treated by the 3 surgical approaches. Conclusion: The majority of studies are focusing on open pyeloplasty. However, as more surgeons are going through the learning curve of laparoscopic pyeloplasty, the trend is towards more laparoscopic management in the future. It is important to discover the advantages of laparoscopic-assisted approach as a new technique to improve the outcome and shorten the hospital stay amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Background and Objectives: Researchers all around the world are working hard to find an effective treatment for the new coronavirus 2019. We performed a comprehensive systematic review to investigate the latest clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of treatment with Remdesivir in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Materials and Methods: We performed a systematic search in Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, Google scholar and MedRxiv for relevant observational and interventional studies. The outcomes measures were mortality rates, improvement rates, time to clinical improvement, all adverse event rates and severe adverse event rates. Results: Three randomized controlled trials and 2 cohort studies were included in our study. In the 2 cohort studies, patients received Remdesivir for 10 days. 2 RCTs evaluated 10-day efficacy of treatment with Remdesivir versus placebo group and the other RCT compared its 5-day regimen versus 10-day regimen. Visual inspection of the forest plots revealed that the efficacy of Remdesivir was not much different in reducing 28-day mortality versus 14-day mortality rates. Besides, 10-day treatment regimen overpowered 5-day treatment and placebo in decreasing time to clinical improvement. All adverse event rates did not have a significant difference;however, severe adverse event rate was lower in the 5-day Remdesivir group compared to the 10-day and placebo groups. Conclusion: 5-day course of Remdesivir therapy in COVID-19 patients is probably efficacious and safe, and patients with-out invasive mechanical ventilation benefit the most. Treatment can be extended to 10 days if satisfactory improvement is not seen by day 5. Most benefits from Remdesivir therapy take place in the first 14 days of the start of the treatment.