Performance of islamic vs conventional banks in OIC countries: Resilience and recovery during Covid-19

This paper compares the performance of Islamic and conventional banks before and during Covid-19. It uses daily data for the years 2016-2022 of 12 Islamic and 21 conventional banks in six OIC countries: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, and Turkey. The paper employs the asymmetric GJR-GARCH and E-GARCH models to estimate volatility and Chow break point test to identify structural breaks. The maximum drawdown, compound annual return, and Calmar ratios methods quantify the reaction, resilience, and recovery of both types of banks. It is observed that prior to Covid-19, Islamic banks did well because they had lower drawdowns and better Calmar ratios compared to conventional banks. During Covid-19, conventional banks did better than their counterparts, took less time to recover and had better Calmar ratios. Copyright (c) 2022 Borsa.Istanbul Anonim Sirketi. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Performance of islamic vs conventional banks in OIC countries: Resilience and recovery during Covid-19

This paper compares the performance of Islamic and conventional banks before and during Covid-19. It uses daily data for the years 2016–2022 of 12 Islamic and 21 conventional banks in six OIC countries: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, and Turkey. The paper employs the asymmetric GJR-GARCH and E-GARCH models to estimate volatility and Chow break point test to identify structural breaks. The maximum drawdown, compound annual return, and Calmar ratios methods quantify the reaction, resilience, and recovery of both types of banks. It is observed that prior to Covid-19, Islamic banks did well because they had lower drawdowns and better Calmar ratios compared to conventional banks. During Covid-19, conventional banks did better than their counterparts, took less time to recover and had better Calmar ratios. © 2022 Borsa Ä°stanbul Anonim Åžirketi

Asymmetric spillover effects of Covid-19 on the performance of the Islamic finance industry: A wave analysis and forecasting

This paper investigates the spillover effects of the waves of Covid-19 that affected the performance of the Islamic financial sector index (KMI 30) concerning Pakistan's stock exchange. The daily data is used on confirmed registered cases of Covid-19 and the KMI 30 stock prices from February 2020 to June 2022. The data is distributed into five segments on the basis of Covid-19 waves. The asymmetric GJR-GARCH is used to capture the effect of Covid-19 during each wave and E-GARCH is used to see the positive and negative impacts of Covid-19 on KMI through spillover effects. The E-GARCH model also serves to forecast the conditional variance. The Chow structural break point and Bai and Perron tests identify the structural breaks in each wave. Results of structural break testing confirm the presence breaks in each wave. Meanwhile volatility modeling results indicate there is an asymmetric effect in the return series. The E-GARCH model results reveal that there is return and volatility spillover effect from Covid-19 to KMI 30 in each wave. In future the conditional volatility remains less than the expected volatility as predicted by the forecasting statistics. We respond to policy calls by sharing our novel research in not only combating, but also assisting the required urgency of planning for future of Covid-19 outbreaks. © 2022

A moderated mediation effect of symbolic and substantive preventive actions on employees' preventive behavior in the context of Covid-19

This study utilizes Social Information Processing (SIP) theory to investigate the relationship between organizational preventive actions (substantive vs. symbolic), employee preventive behavior, the mediating role of conspiracy beliefs, and moderating role of leadership integrity in the context of Covid-19. The study explains leadership integrity as a boundary condition to facilitate or hinder the mediated relationship between organizational actions and employee preventive behavior (EPB). The hypothesized model was tested using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) on two-wave data collected from 281 respondents. The results revealed that substantive actions do not predict EPB directly but through conspiracy beliefs. Contrary to these, symbolic actions negatively predict EPB directly. Leadership integrity moderates the relationship between substantive actions and conspiracy beliefs, while the interaction effect with symbolic actions is not supported. The findings of this study caution managers to walk their talk because employees critically observe the most apparent actions, especially when management fails to practice them. The study contributes to social information processing theory by pointing to leadership integrity as a source of authenticity to curb the negative impact of symbolic actions and catalyst the effect of substantive actions on employee preventive behavior.

Green Energy Consumption and Inclusive Growth: A Comprehensive Analysis of Multi-Country Study

Whenever there is a question of environmental quality and inclusive economic growth, green and renewable energy consumption leads the debate. This paper explores the relationship between green energy consumption and inclusive economic growth. It employs GMM panel data modelling frameworks for understanding the "green energy vis-a-vis -growth paradox". It uses post-COVID-19 data for eighty-three countries between 2010 and 2020. These countries are divided into high-, middle- and low-income as per the World Bank's classifications. The selected composite variables are consisting of GDP growth, poverty, income equality and employment measures. The study reports that green energy positively contributes to inclusive growth despite its lower contribution to overall energy usage in low-income countries. It observes that socio-digital inclusion and green energy together impact positively on inclusive growth in all income groups (low, middle and high). This means citizens of the selected countries are aware of the pros and cons of green energy that helps countries to mitigate the negative impacts of countries' transition to clean energy usage in terms of job losses, higher costs of clean energy and uncertainty to energy supply. Furthermore, results also reveal that green energy is significant contributor towards achieving inclusive growth, however it his highly significant in high income countries compared to other groups, showing its higher use in it. This comprehensive study is the first of its kind providing comparative analysis of 83 countries which explores and compares the interesting impacts of green energy consumption on inclusive growth in global data from the designated income groups.

Covid-19 Association with Mucormycosis (CAM): An Experience from Single Hospital Based Study

Objective: This study aimed to assess the outcomes experienced by patients diagnosed with mucormycosis linked with COVID-19 while they were hospitalized. Study Design: Retrospective study Place and Duration: This study was carried out at Sardar Begum Dental College from January, 2022 to June 2022. Method(s): There were 215 patients of both genders had age 18-80 years were presented in this study. Included patients had confirmed coronavirus disease with symptoms of mucormycosis. Patients were provided informed written consent for detailed demographics. Clinical and laboratory outcomes among all cases were assessed. We used SPSS 22.0 to analyze all data. Result(s): There were majority males 165 (76.7%) and 50 (23.3%) females in this study. Mean age of the patients was 45.6+/-17.53 years and had mean BMI 26.13+/-8.17 kg/m2. We found that diabetes mellitus was the most common co morbidity in 140 (65.1%) cases, followed by hypertension in 85 (39.5%) cases. Frequency of rhino orbital mucormycosis was found in 110 (51.2%) cases, sinuses in 70 (32.6%) cases and cerebral in 35 (16.3%) cases. Majority of the cases were treated by steroid. Mean hospitalization was 16.8+/-7.67 days. Frequency of died patients was 28 (13.02%) because of CKD, renal dysfunction and orbital involvement. Conclusion(s): We concluded in this study that rhino-orbital involvement, CKD and renal dysfunction were a significantly risk factors for mortality among patients of COVID-19 with mucormycosis. Copyright © 2022 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.

Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions of Medical and Non-Medical Students towards COVID-19 in Punjab, Pakistan: a Cross-sectional Survey

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is posing a huge burden on the entire world including developing countries like Pakistan. Our objective was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and perception of medical and non-medical college students towards COVID-19. A cross sectional survey was conducted among the college students of Punjab, Pakistan using a self-administered questionnaire during April-June 2021. Multivariate logistic regression modelling was used to evaluate adequate knowledge, good Attitude, and good Perception about COVID 19. P-value was determined using mood's median test and the value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 925 respondents completed the survey (37.8% males and 62.2% females). Mean knowledge score of the study respondents was 7.0 (maximum score 10.0). Mean attitude and perception scores were 37 and 33.5 respectively (maximum score 50.0). Statistically significant variations (p < 0.001) were observed in the knowledge of college students regarding number of people residing in the household and exercising regularly or not. Different age groups gave significant differences (p < 0.001) regarding the attitudes towards COVID-19). Significant variations were also found in the perception of the respondents depending upon the number of people residing in the household (p = 0.003), place of residence (p = 0.008). Pakistani students had satisfactory knowledge of COVID-19, but their attitudes and perceptions needed to be flourishing. These students could help reduce the spread of COVID-19 by guiding the general public on good COVID-19 practices. Copyright © 2021, Colegio de Farmaceuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. All rights reserved.

Proteinuria in Thin Basement Membrane Nephropathy: A Rare Finding

Hydrothorax occurs in approximately 2% of patients on peritoneal dialysis caused by migration of fluid from the peritoneal cavity into the pleural space via pleuroperitoneal fistulas. These diaphragmatic defects are usually congenital and right-sided, explaining the predominance of right-sided effusion.. Thoracocentesis with biochemical analysis of pleural fluid reveals a transudate with a very high glucose concentration. In uncertain cases, or when there is a clinical need to demonstrate the anatomy of the communication, an imaging approach such as peritoneal scintigraphy is required. 66-year-old Hispanic female with past medical history significant for end stage kidney disease on peritoneal dialysis for past 5 months, hypertension ,cerebrovascular accident with no residual deficit, and recent exposure to COVID19 presented with fever, shortness of breath, left eye gaze abnormality and + COVID PCR. She had been having issues with meeting ultrafiltration goals outpatient. On examination she has decreased breath sounds at right lung base, Abdomen non-tender with PD catheter in place with clean dressing, no pedal edema. Laboratory findings were consistent with a transudative effusion;no organisms were cultured and no malignant cells were visualized. CT failed to identify dispersal of contrast material into the right hemithorax. A nuclear isotope scan was subsequently done. Following administration of technetium 99m via the PD catheter, a high volume of radioactive dialysate was detected entering the right hemithorax. No tracer activity was seen in the left hemithorax. PD was stopped and switched to intermittent hemodialysis.Unfortunately she succumbed to covid 19 pneumonia and died few days later. 50% of the cases, a conservative approach allows reinstitution of CAPD Conservative approach with temporary cessation of peritoneal dialysis remains the first-line treatment. 1-4 months has been shown to be adequate cessation time and restarting with low volume PD. If conservative approach fails, Invasive approach with video-assisted thoracoscopic pleurodesis or diaphragmatic repair or both allows most of them to continue with CAPD

Student's Satisfaction with Online Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the level of student's satisfaction with online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: The study was conducted in Sharif Medical and Dental College, Lahore from 10th June to 10th July 2020. It was a cross-sectional survey in which MBBS and BDS students were consecutively enrolled in the study. An online survey was carried out after the completion of 6 weeks of online classes through the Zoom application. A self-designed questionnaire based on a 5-point Likert scale was given to the students to grade the effectiveness of learning through e-classes and their satisfaction level on various parameters. On the Likert scale, 1 & 2 were taken as highly dissatisfied (strongly disagree, & disagree) and 4 & 5 being satisfied (strongly agree, & agree) and 3 was considered as uncertain. Percentages of the respondents in each domain of the questionnaire were calculated. Results: Out of 470 participants, only 72(15.32%) students already had an experience of e-classes. Among the study participants, 327(69.57%) were of MBBS and 143(30.43%) were of BDS. The majority of the students 291(61.91%) were not satisfied with online classes, 99(21.06%) of students were uncertain and only 80(17.02%) of the students were satisfied. Conclusion: The majority of the students 291(61.91%) were not satisfied with online classes in terms of learning environment, technological characteristics, and course management.

Knowledge, attitude and practices of antenatal women regarding personal preventive measures for COVID-19 infection

Objective: To identify level of knowledge about disease, attitude and behaviors in antenatal women contributing to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that is still on the rise. Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Avicenna Hospital Lahore from 5th November 2020 to 4th February 2021. Methodology: Two hundred pregnant women who visiting the OPD of the hospital were enrolled. A pre-validated questionnaire was used to assess KAP towards COVID-19. Results: More than 70% were familiar with COVID-19 infection;most common source of information was news channels (76.5%). Large proportion of patients showed poor knowledge of disease transmission and symptomatology. 50% believed that infection is very contagious but only 49% reported that route of spread is respiratory droplets and 21% believed it spreads via direct contact also. Very few women showed a positive perception of disease prevention and control (<50%). Conclusion: Obstetric patients have sufficient knowledge regarding COVID-19 pandemic but their attitude and practices are not sufficient to stop the spread of disease in Pakistan.

Frequency of cutaneous manifestations in covid-19

Objective: To provide an insight into the frequency of cutaneous manifestations in patients with Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19), along with an association of these findings with the severity of the disease. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Tertiary care hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from May to Jul 2020. Methodology: We collected data from 412 confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients directly who were >12 years of age. The data included names of patients, their genders, ages, dates of admission, severity category, presence or absence of symptoms and cutaneous findings along with description of cutaneous findings if present. The data was evaluated using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Results: Eleven out of the total 412 patients with COVID-19 included in our study were found to have cutaneous findings. The frequency of cutaneous manifestations associated with COVID-19 was calculated to be 11 (2.7%). Increasing age proved to be positively correlated with increasing severity of the disease whereas no association was found between gender and severity of the disease. Conclusion: Infection with COVID-19 may result in dermatological manifestations with various clinical presentations, which may aid in better understanding and management of the disease. © 2021, Army Medical College. All rights reserved.

Outcomes of patients undergoing emergency surgery during the first phase of national lockdown in the United Kingdomdue to COVID-19 pandemic: Experience at A District General Hospital

Introduction: This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency operations during the first phase of lockdown in the United Kingdom, compared to the equivalent population in the same calendar period in 2019 Method: We retrospectively reviewed patients undergoing surgery in emergency theatres at our district general hospital between March 23rd and May 11th in 2019 and 2020. Data collected included demographics National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) category and procedure. The primary outcome was 90-day post-operative mortality;secondary outcomes included time to intervention and length of inpatient stay Result: 132 patients (2020) versus 141 (2019) patients were included with no significant difference in age (P=0.676), sex (P=0.230), or overall 90-day postoperative mortality (P=0.196). Notably, time to intervention was faster for NCEPOD code 3 patients in 2020 than 2019 (P=0.027) Time to intervention in 2020 was longer for those dying within 90 days post-operatively compared to survivors (P=0.02). There was no difference in length of stay between years, both overall and when comparing subgroups by NCEPOD category or procedures (fractured neck of femur (P=0.776), laparoscopies (P=0.866), laparotomies (P=0.252)), except for upper limb trauma (P=0.007) Conclusion: This study is amongst the first describing the general case mix in emergency theatres in the UK. Patient pre-operative characteristics and demographics did not change. Our data confirms patient prioritisation according to NCEPOD recommendations and streamlining of surgical services, with no difference in overall mortality time to intervention or length of stay compared to 2019 Take-home Message: At this district general hospital, patients were appropriately prioritised, and our results show adaptation of hospital practice to emerging national guidelines during the first phase of lockdown A national validation audit assessing morbidity and mortality outcomes for all NCEPOD patients may be facilitate further understanding of risks posed to patients requiring urgent surgery during these unprecedented times .

The Effect of Outdoor Monitor on People’s Attention

Since the end of 2019, COVID-19 has left several impacts on people’s life. To reduce the chance of infection, avoiding crowded places has been recommended by the authority. It raises a need to find an effective way to avoid high occupancy levels inside public places. One approach is using a screen located outside to display the occupancy information. This study aims to examine this method’s effect and screen size on people’s attention. To evaluate, various screen sizes were investigated in a natural arrangement meaning that people’s activities and behaviors are observed and captured. The results show that placing a monitor outside is a sufficient way to inform customers about the occupancy’s level;and the larger screen size increases the chance of getting people’s attention. The research questions are implied in the sentence above. Our findings benefit those seeking a suitable solution to provide the occupancy level of the public places. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

COVID-19 pandemic did not affect emergency theatre patient demographic and length of stay in the first phase of UK countrywide lockdown in a district general hospital.

INTRODUCTION: We aim to identify any changes in outcome for patients undergoing nonelective surgery at the start of the UK pandemic in our district general hospital. This was a single-centre retrospective cohort review of a UK district general hospital serving a population of over 250,000 people. METHODS: Participants were all patients undergoing a surgical procedure in the acute theatre list between 23 March to 11 May in both 2019 and 2020. Primary outcome was 90-day postoperative mortality. Secondary outcomes include time to surgical intervention and length of inpatient stay. RESULTS: A total of 132 patients (2020) versus 141 (2019) patients were included. Although overall 90-day postoperative mortality was higher in 2020 (9.8%) compared with 2019 (5.7%), this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.196). In 2020, eight patients tested positive for COVID-19 either as an inpatient or within 2 weeks of discharge, of whom five patients died. Time to surgical intervention was significantly faster for NCEPOD (National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death) code 3 patients in 2020 than in 2019 (p=0.027). There were no significant differences in mean length of inpatient stay. CONCLUSIONS: We found that patients were appropriately prioritised using NCEPOD classification, with no statistically significant differences in 90-day postoperative mortality and length of inpatient stay compared with the 2019 period. A study on a larger scale would further elucidate the profile and outcomes of patients requiring acute surgery to generate statistical significance.

HRCT chest finding and clinical course of asymptomatic cases with COVID-19 pneumonia

Aim: To detect the early HRCT chest findings and clinical course in patients diagnosed as COVID-19 positive but are asymptomatic. Study design: A prospective study. Setting: All the confirmed COVID-19 patients encountered at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Lahore corona desk, from 1st April 2020 to 30th April 2020 were studied in this survey. Methods: In our survey, we selected those asymptomatic patients who had positive contact history, diagnosed as COVID-19 positive by RT-PCR. Characteristic CT findings of each enrolled patient were collected and then interpreted. Results: 53 asymptomatic exposed patients with COVID-19 lung disease were enrolled and underwent HRCT Chest. All patients who had a contact history of COVID-19 patients were tested positive by RT-PCR. These patients had a history of contact with COVID-19 patients. 58.49% of patients had normal HRCT Chest while 41.5% patients had abnormal CT findings. The predominant feature on HRCT Chest was GGO in (100%) with peripheral distribution (72.2%), diffuse (27.27%), unilateral distribution (45.4%), and bilateral distribution (54.5%). After a short-term follow-up, 20 patients (37.7%) developed symptoms mainly including fever, SOB, cough, and lethargy. Follow-up HRCT showed progression of disease in (9.09%) patients. Conclusion: HRCT chest of patients having COVID-19 pneumonia that are asymptomatic has specific characteristics. As asymptomatic patients are silent carriers and some patients can worsen in a very short period. It is important to consider the importance of the detection and surveillance regarding asymptomatic patients having COVID-19. HRCT chest also has great value in screening and diagnosing patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, specifically in those who have a high suspicion, asymptomatic patients with negative PCR. © 2021 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.

Should COVID-19 patients >75 years be Ventilated? An Outcome Study.

BACKGROUND: Elderly patients with COVID-19 disease are at increased risk for adverse outcomes. Current data regarding disease characteristics and outcomes in this population are limited. AIM: To delineate the adverse factors associated with outcomes of COVID-19 patients ≥75 years of age. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: Patients were classified into mild/moderate, severe/very severe and critical disease (intubated) based on oxygen requirements. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. RESULTS: A total of 355 patients aged ≥75 years hospitalized with COVID-19 between 19 March and 25 April 2020 were included.Mean age was 84.3 years. One-third of the patients developed critical disease. Mean length of stay was 7.10 days. Vasopressors were required in 27%, with the highest frequency in the critical disease group (74.1%). Overall mortality was 57.2%, with a significant difference between severity groups (mild/moderate disease: 17.4%, severe/very severe disease: 71.3%, critical disease: 94.9%, P < 0.001).Increased age, dementia, and severe/very severe and critical disease groups were independently associated with increased odds for mortality while diarrhea was associated with decreased odds for mortality (OR: 0.12, 95% CI: 0.02-0.60, P < 0.05). None of the cardiovascular comorbidities were significantly associated with mortality. CONCLUSION: Age and dementia are associated with increased odds for mortality in patients ≥75 years of age hospitalized with COVID-19. Those who require intubation have the greatest odds for mortality. Diarrhea as a presenting symptom was associated with lower odds for mortality.