ABSTRACT
Purpose: This conceptual paper aims to explore portfolio replication to resolve post-COVID pandemic private and public debt. This paper stresses the need to be less dependent on a debt-based system and the emergence Islamic equity market. Design/methodology/approach: This study analyses different types of risks involved in Islamic and conventional portfolios by using risk measures such as relative beta and comparatively examining the systematic and downside risk exposure of Islamic and conventional portfolios. Data was collected monthly from 2016 to 2022. Findings: The findings indicate that the replications of a conventional portfolio into an Islamic portfolio are compatible with the regulatory standard, sharia boundaries and professional practices developed from investment theory. The result shows that Islamic portfolios have lower risk exposure compared with their conventional counterparts in most of the sample years, therefore, become further attractive for debt–equity portfolio swaps and Sharia-compliant investors preferring low-risk preferences. The result confirmed that the Islamic portfolios have a higher return and less risk than conventional portfolios. Research limitations/implications: The implications of this research are to provide a road map to the regulators, policymakers, governments and the financial industry on how to rearrange some of the public and private debt. A likely remedy is incorporating Islamic financial instrument principles through the equitisation of public and private debt. Practical implications: This research contributes to investors (particularly those who want to avoid riba [usury] based investment) to make more diversified portfolios by considering Islamic portfolios to reduce risk exposure. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to create bivariate debt–equity portfolios swaps composed of Islamic and conventional assets. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to see how 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D] supplementation affected the performance, immunity, and vitamin D status of broilers, with and without infectious bronchitis virus challenge. Day-old chicks (n = 1000) were divided into four dietary treatments. All experimental treatments were containing 5000 IU of D3 and supplemented with 0, 100, 300, or 500 g/tonne of Bio D containing 0, 13.94, 41.82, or 69.70 mg 25(OH)D, respectively. In unchallenged birds, the inclusion of 25(OH)D significantly improved survival rates and EPEF values, and no significant difference in LBW, BWG, FC, or FCR was observed. In infectious bronchitis virus (IBV)-challenged birds, the 25(OH)D treatment showed less deterioration in BWG, and FC compared with the control, especially 25(OH)D500 group. The lowest mortality was observed in the 25(OH)D500 group. The health status of chicks fed diets supplemented with 25(OH)D post-challenge had significantly better CD4, CD8, and immunoglobulin (IgG, IgM) levels, H/L ratio, total leucocytic count (TLC) in peripheral blood and IBV titers, cytokine (including interleukin (IL) 10) and (IFN)-γ expression, and reduced IBV shedding. After IBV challenge, all 25(OH)D groups recorded higher levels of plasma vitamin D than the control. Furthermore, 25(OH)D groups showed significantly higher antibody titers than the control group. In general, dietary supplementation with different levels of 25(OH)D had a positive effect on inflammatory reaction and stimulated the systemic innate immune responses of chickens during IBV challenge. In turn, recovery in the challenged birds with 25(OH)D rapidly occurred compared with that in the control group. © 2022 The Authors
ABSTRACT
The Malaysian government implemented the Movement Control Order (MCO) from March 18 to May 13, 2020, in an effort to curb the coronavirus disease outbreak that had spread throughout the nation. Utilizing data from GOSAT, GOSAT-2, OCO-2, OCO-3, and TROPOMI, the total column-averaged dry-air mole fraction of carbon dioxide and methane (referred as XCO2 and XCH4) is employed to examine the patterns of both gases throughout the MCO as well as from the same period the prior and following year. The Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation method is utilized in mapping the XCO2 and XCH4 for the industrial areas in Peninsular Malaysia. The results revealed that even MCO is implemented, the XCO2 and XCH4 in the industrial areas are increasing year by year. By using satellites data, the XCO2 and XCH4 from large areas can be monitored continuously.
ABSTRACT
The abrupt shift from face-to-face teaching to Online Distance Learning (ODL) the Covid-19 pandemic has posed significant problems to teachers and students. Teachers not only need to adapt to online teaching, but teachers also need to learn new information and skills so that they are proficient in using IT. Thus, this study aims to examine the readiness and implementation of ODL among trainee teachers of Geography during teaching training. A quantitative approach with survey design involving questionnaires used in this study. 131 Geography trainee teachers were sampled for the study using stratified random sampling technique. Descriptive analysis (mean, percentage, frequency) and inferential analysis (Pearson correlation, linear regression) used to answer each study question. The findings of the study show that the level of knowledge, attitude, skills, motivation and implementation of ODL among trainee teachers during teaching practice is at a high level. Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a significant positive relationship between implementation of ODL among Geography trainee teachers during teaching practice on the knowledge, attitude, skills and motivation. The results of regression analysis showed that the skills of trainee teachers were more influential which was 36.7 percent on the implementation of PdPR among Geography trainee teachers during teaching practice. While the knowledge and attitude of trainee teachers gave the influence of contribution of 1.7 percent and 6.5 percent respectively. The implication of this study is that schools and universities can assess the extent to which the readiness and effectiveness of PdPR done by trainee teachers in order to prepare them to become real teachers one day.
ABSTRACT
The purposes of this paper are (i) to examine 3 driving factors affecting China A-shares market performance;namely systematic risk, idiosyncratic risk, and market sentiment, and (ii) to investigate the relationship between state-owned enterprise (SOE) & non-SOE and stock returns. In addition, the study also analyze normal condition and the impacts of Sino-US trade war and Covid-19 pandemic. This study employs monthly data which is divided into two parts namely (i) 2004-2020 period and (ii) 2018-2020 period. Multiple classic asset pricing models are employed to investigate the impacts of the 3 driving factors on stock returns. The results showed that these 3 driving factors exert significant influence on China A-shares in 2004-2020, However, the impact of market sentiment is weak during the period 2018-2020. Furthermore, market risks, firm size and B/M factor show great impacts on both SOE and non-SOE, profitability factor affecting non-SOE stock return is more important than investment which improves SOE stock return. This study proposes that investors and companies pay more attention to systematic risk and idiosyncratic risk, which potentially have greater impact on the stock market and to reduce unnecessary economic losses © International Journal of Economics and Management
ABSTRACT
In accordance with epidemic COVID-19, the elevated infection rates, disinfectant overuse and antibiotic misuse what led to immune suppression in most of the population in addition to genotypic and phenotypic alterations in the microorganisms, so a great need to reevaluate the genetic determinants that responsible for bacterial community (biofilm) has been raised. A total of 250 clinical specimens were obtained from patients in Baghdad hospitals and streaked on Mannitol salt agar medium. The results revealed that 156 isolates appeared as round yellow colonies, indicating that they were mostly identified as Staphylococcus aureus from 250 specimens. The antibiotic resistance pattern of the isolates for methicillin 37.17% (n=58), Amoxicillin-Clavulanate 58.9% (n=92), chloramphenicol 6.4% (n=10), Tetracyclin 62.8% (n=98), ceftriaxone 53.8% (n=84), Ciprofloxacin 6.4% (n=10), Gentamicin 42.3% (n=66), levofloxacin 28.2% (n=44), Penicillin 33.3% (n=52). The results demonstrated that 49 isolates were multidurg resistance. The biofilm formation ability of MDR was detected and total of 120 S. aureus isolates (76.92 %) were found to be adherent to varied degrees. Only fifty isolates (32.05% of the total) were classified as strong biofilm producers. Twenty-three (14.75%) were moderate producers, and forty seven isolates (30.12%) were found to be weak producers. A total of 36 isolates (23.08%) exhibited no biofilm production. Molecular detection of four biofilm coding genes icaA, icaD, icaR and eno was applied using doublex PCR technique. The current study revealed that 72%, 78%, 70% and 84% of isolates that carried icaA, icaD, icaR and eno genes respectively, eno is the predominant in the Iraqi isolates. © 2022 International Journal of Health Sciences.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: This conceptual paper aims to explore portfolio replication to resolve post-COVID pandemic private and public debt. This paper stresses the need to be less dependent on a debt-based system and the emergence Islamic equity market. Design/methodology/approach: This study analyses different types of risks involved in Islamic and conventional portfolios by using risk measures such as relative beta and comparatively examining the systematic and downside risk exposure of Islamic and conventional portfolios. Data was collected monthly from 2016 to 2022. Findings: The findings indicate that the replications of a conventional portfolio into an Islamic portfolio are compatible with the regulatory standard, sharia boundaries and professional practices developed from investment theory. The result shows that Islamic portfolios have lower risk exposure compared with their conventional counterparts in most of the sample years, therefore, become further attractive for debt–equity portfolio swaps and Sharia-compliant investors preferring low-risk preferences. The result confirmed that the Islamic portfolios have a higher return and less risk than conventional portfolios. Research limitations/implications: The implications of this research are to provide a road map to the regulators, policymakers, governments and the financial industry on how to rearrange some of the public and private debt. A likely remedy is incorporating Islamic financial instrument principles through the equitisation of public and private debt. Practical implications: This research contributes to investors (particularly those who want to avoid riba [usury] based investment) to make more diversified portfolios by considering Islamic portfolios to reduce risk exposure. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to create bivariate debt–equity portfolios swaps composed of Islamic and conventional assets. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
Internet of Medical Things was immensely implemented in healthcare systems during the covid 19 pandemic to enhance the patient's circumstances remotely in critical care units while keeping the medical staff safe from being infected. However, Healthcare systems were severely affected by ransomware attacks that may override data or lock systems from caregivers' access. In this work, after obtaining the required approval, we have got a real medical dataset from actual critical care units. For the sake of research, a portion of data was used, transformed, and manifested using laboratory-made payload ransomware and successfully labeled. The detection mechanism adopted supervised machine learning techniques of K Nearest Neighbor, Support Vector Machine, Decision Trees, Random Forest, and Logistic Regression in contrast with deep learning technique of Artificial Neural Network. The methods of KNN, SVM, and DT successfully detected ransomware's signature with an accuracy of 100%. However, ANN detected the signature with an accuracy of 99.9%. The results of this work were validated using precision, recall, and f1 score metrics.
ABSTRACT
In the present paper, we study a mathematical model of an imperfect testing infectious disease model in the sense of the Mittage-Leffler kernel. The Banach contraction principle has been used for the existence and uniqueness of solutions of the suggested model. Furthermore, a numerical method equipped with Lagrangian polynomial interpolation has been utilized for the numerical outcomes. Diagramming and discussion are used to clarify the effects of related parameters in the fractional-order imperfect testing infectious disease model.
ABSTRACT
The declaration of COVID-19 pandemic by the WHO initiated a series of lockdowns globally that varied in stringency and duration; however, the spatiotemporal effects of these lockdowns on air quality remain understudied. This study evaluates the global impact of lockdowns on air pollutants using tropospheric and ground-level indicators over a five-month period. Moreover, the relationship between air pollution and COVID-19 cases and mortalities was examined. Changes in the global tropospheric (NO2, aerosols, and O3) and ground-level (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and O3) pollutants were observed, and the maximum air quality improvement was observed immediately after lockdown. Except for a few countries, a decline in air pollutants correlated with a reduction in Land Surface Temperature (LST). Notably, regions with higher tropospheric NO2 and aerosol concentrations were also COVID-19 hotspots. Our analysis showed moderate positive correlation for NO2 with COVID-19 cases (R2 = 0.33; r = 0.57, P = 0.006) and mortalities (R2 = 0.40; r = 0.63, P = 0.015), while O3 showed a weak-moderate positive correlation with COVID-19 cases (R2 = 0.22; r = 0.47, P = 0.003) and mortalities (R2 = 0.12; r = 0.35, P = 0.012). However, PM2.5, and PM10 showed no significant correlation with either COVID-19 cases or mortality. This study reveals that humans living under adverse air pollution conditions are at higher risk of COVID-19 infection and mortality.
ABSTRACT
With the help of Banach’s fixed-point approach and the Leray–Schauder alternative theorem, we produced existence results for a general class of fractional differential equations in this paper. The proposed problem is more comprehensive and applicable to real-life situations. As an example of how our problem might be used, we have created a fractional-order COVID-19 model whose solution is guaranteed by our results. We employed a numerical approach to solve the COVID-19 model, and the results were compared for different fractional orders. Our numerical results for fractional orders follow the same pattern as the classical example of order 1, indicating that our numerical scheme is accurate.
ABSTRACT
Microorganisms lives with us in our environment, touching infectious material on the surfaces by hand-mouth which causes infectious diseases and some of these diseases are rapidly spreading from person to person. These days the world facing COVID-19 pandemic disease. This article concerned with existence of results and stability analysis for a nabla discrete ABC-fractional order COVID-19. The nabla discrete ABC-fractional operator as more general and applicable in modeling of dynamical problems due to its non-singular kernel. For the existence and uniqueness theorems and Hyers-Ulam stability, we need to suppose some conditions which will play important role in the proof of our main results. At the end, an expressive example is given to provide an application for the nabla discrete ABC-fractional order COVID-19 model.
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has a tremendous effect on people's lives worldwide, and the number of infected patients increases daily. The healthcare sector is affected by a large number of patients with COVID-19, and a solution is urgently needed to avert the risk of deteriorating patients in terms of prioritizing patients based on their health conditions. Prioritization of patients with COVID-19 is a complex and multi-criteria decision-analysis (MCDA) problem due to (i) multiple biological laboratory examination criteria, (ii) criteria importance and (iii) trade-off amongst the criteria. This study presents a new multi-biological laboratory examination framework for prioritizing patients with COVID-19 on the basis of integrated MCDA methods. The experiment was conducted on the basis of three phases. In the first phase, patient datasets containing eight biological laboratory examination criteria for six patients with COVID-19 were derived and discussed. The outcome of this phase was used to propose a decision matrix on the basis of the intersection between "biological laboratory examination criteria" and "COVID-19 patients list". In the second phase, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method was utilized to set the subjective weights for the biological laboratory examination criteria by respiratory experts. In the last phase, the VIekriterijumsko KOmpromisno Rangiranje (VIKOR) method was adopted to prioritize patients in the context of individual and group decision making (GDM). Results showed that (1) the integration of AHP-VIKOR method based on individual and GDM contexts was effective for solving prioritization problems for patients with COVID-19, and (2) the prioritization results of patients with COVID-19 showed no variation in the internal and external VIKOR GDM contexts. The proposed multi-biological laboratory examination framework can differentiate between the mild and serious or critical condition of patients with COVID-19 by prioritizing them based on integrated AHP-VIKOR methods. In conclusion, medical sectors can use the proposed framework to differentiate the health conditions of infected patients and to assign appropriate care with prompt and effective treatment.