ABSTRACT
Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the real estate sector the world over. The significance of real estate to the Indian economy is substantial - both, in terms of GDP contribution and employment generation. As a supplier of both commercial and residential infrastructure, real estate acts as a fulcrum for growth and enables holistic socio-economic development. This paper studies the extent of the impact of Covid-19 on the Indian real estate sector, and evaluates the response to the challenges on the part of Real Estate Regulatory Authorities (RERAs) and other agencies in the real estate regulatory framework. Using primary data from a survey covering 257 respondents from 16 states, and secondary data from surveys conducted in two separate waves of Covid-19 - one by Anarock and another by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India - better insights are obtained. Notifications issued by RERAs and Ministries, RBI directives, representations made by various stakeholder associations, and a focus group discussion of experts and professionals are other in-puts used in the analysis of the regulatory response. The data indicate that the effect of Covid-19 on real estate has been severe, with the severity getting compounded after the second wave. The stress extends to all stakeholders in the real estate ecosystem. The measures announced by various regulatory agencies are considered inadequate by developers, who have argued for a more robust response, including GST and other fiscal changes. Experts recommend amendments to the RERA Act, as well as the use of technology and innovation for long-term adjustment.
ABSTRACT
The coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) has created a turmoil across the globe, with India emerging as one of the worst-hit countries. The Global scenario indicates a gender bias with a higher COVID-19 Case fatality rate (CFR) in males as opposed to females. However, countries like India, Nepal, Vietnam and Slovenia have reported a reverse trend in mortality. Real-time disaggregated data empowers countries to design more effective, sustainable, and people-centered approaches to treat and prevent COVID-19. Our study aimed to procure sex-disaggregated data in the Indian population by using a google form based online health survey. We have analyzed parameters like age, gender, occupation, sex and severity of infection based on CT score, steroid dependence, need for hospitalization, etc. The responses were evaluated by descriptive statistics by excluding arbitrary correlation. We found that the males were at a significantly greater risk of severe disease and mortality (~ twice) than females. We also found that the males as compared to females, presented almost eighteen times the odds of requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission;reflecting severity of the infection. A sex-informed approach to COVID-19 research would reveal novel responses of the host immune system to SARS-CoV-2, which can then be utilized in formulation of policies for equitable health outcomes. © ScienceIN.
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Background: Health care workers (HCWs) are more likely to be at high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection due to their direct and/or indirect participation in treatment facilities. Here, we aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practices of ivermectin pre-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in HCWs. Materials and Methods: In this observational study HCWs who were directly/indirectly involved in the medication of COVID-19 patients were selected. The study questionnaire included demographic data;knowledge, attitudes, practices, and associated adverse drug reactions (ADR) after using ivermectin as pre-exposure prophylaxis in COVID-19.
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Introduction: Acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia (AFOP) is a rare histological pattern of lung injury. Organizing Pneumonia (OP) may be occurring more frequently than realized in patients with lung injury from COVID-19. This case report reviews the presentation and disease course of AFOP in a patient with COVID-19. Case description:A 49-year-old male with a history of Diabetes Mellitus and Chronic Lymphocytic Lymphoma on Venetoclax and Obinutuzumab presented with fever, exertional dyspnea, and dry cough and was diagnosed with COVID-19. His CT scan showed extensive peripheral predominant patchy and heterogenous ground glass opacities with mediastinal lymphadenopathy (Image A). His serum aspergillus galactomannan index was 4.37 and he was started on voriconazole. He however remained febrile;so, he had a transbronchial cryobiopsy. His pathology revealed marked interstitial T-cell lymphocytic inflammatory infiltrate with fibrinous and organizing pneumonia. There was proliferative bronchiolitis and evidence of acute pulmonary hemorrhage, without features of vasculitis/capillaritis. No evidence of malignancy or organisms were identified. He was started on methylprednisolone daily and he initially improved, however, his fever returned and his oxygen requirements increased rapidly with steroid taper. His repeat chest CT scan showed a marked increase in bilateral patchy areas of consolidation with surrounding areas of ground glass opacity and intralobular septal thickening ("crazy paving") Image B. His infectious work up was extensive but negative. At this point, he required invasive mechanical ventilation;after which he received pulse dose steroids for three days followed by high dose maintenance. He improved and was extubated. However, he required high flow supplemental oxygen and was unable to be weaned past 100% fraction of inspired oxygen;as a result, Ruxolitinib was added. Unfortunately, his hypoxemia remained refractory and he developed sudden cardiovascular collapse which led to his demise. The patient died 40 days after admission. Discussion: Understanding the histopathology, disease course, and sequelae of COVID-19 is of paramount importance, because AFOP in COVID-19 adds complexity to management. Our patient's antemortem biopsy was performed prior to acute respiratory distress syndrome and mechanical ventilation as opposed to previous case reports with post mortem findings of AFOP after prolonged mechanical ventilation. Notably, 30% - 60% of intensive care patients with SARS CoV 1 had OP and AFOP. Additionally, the CT findings of COVID-19 are similar to OP and this lends support to the possibility that OP is an underlying pattern of lung injury in COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
The real estate sector in India is among the most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The two major issues that builders are confronted with in the post-Covid scenario are flight of migrant labour and shortage of raw-materials, particularly of bricks. This paper focuses on the technological, environmental and social issues that surround brick-production, impacting their supply to the real estate sector, and proposes a long-term solution which involves utilising the RERA regulatory mechanism. Mechanised units contribute less than 1% of the total brick production in India. The environmental hazards of brick manufacturing include air pollution due to the enormous use of coal, posing a hazard to the health of workers as well as to the surrounding environment, and also contribute to global warming by way of an enlarged carbon footprint. There seems to be a regulatory breakdown insofar as the brick manufacturing sector in India is concerned. Because of its direct stake in the sector, the regulatory mechanism established by the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016 could be entrusted with a monitoring role to drive technological change and safety, the legal basis for which already exists in the RERA Act. The paper proposes a minor amendment, which would catalyse labour reform as well as technological up-gradation in the brick making industry. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.
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Telemedicine can be used by medical practitioners to connect with their patients during the recent Coronavirus outbreak, whilst attempting to reduce COVID-19 transmission among patients and clinicians. Amidst the pandemic, Telemedicine has the potential to help by permitting patients to receive supportive care without having to physically visit a hospital by using a conversational artificial intelligence-based application for their treatment. Thus, telehealth will rapidly and radically transform in-person care to remote consultation of patients. Because of this, it developed a Multilingual Conversational Bot based on Natural Language Processing (NLP) to provide free primary healthcare education, information, advice to chronic patients. The study introduces a novel computer application acting as a personal virtual doctor that has been opportunely designedand extensively trained to interact with patients like human beings. This application is based upon a serverless architecture and it aggregates the services of a doctor by providing preventive measures, home remedies, interactive counseling sessions, healthcare tips, and symptoms covering the most prevalent diseases in rural India. The paper proposes a conversational bot “Aapka Chikitsak” on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) for delivering telehealth in India to increase the patient's access to healthcare knowledge and leverage the potentials of artificial intelligence to bridge the gap of demand and supply of human healthcare providers. This conversational application has resulted in reducing the barriers for access to healthcare facilities and procures intelligent consultations remotely to allowtimely care and quality treatment, thereby effectively assisting the society. © 2020 IEEE.