COVID-19 Spread Prediction and Its Impact on the Stock market price

Predicting the Covid-19 spread and its impact on the stock market is an important research challenge these days. In order to obtain the best forecasting model, we have exploited neuro-evolutionary technique Cartesian genetic programming evolved artificial neural network (CGPANN) based solution to predict the future cases of COVID-19 up to 6-days in advance. This helps authorities and paramedical staff to take precautionary measures on time which helps in counteracting the spreading of the virus. The rising number of COVID cases has caused a significant impact on the stock market. CGPANN being the best performer for the time series prediction model seems ideal for the case under consideration. The proposed model achieved an accuracy as high as 98% predicting COVID-19 cases for the next six days. When compared with other contemporary models CGPANN seems to perform well ahead in terms of accuracy. © 2022 IEEE.

Fundamental Aspects and Developments in Cellulose-based Membrane Technologies for Virus Retention: A Review

Protecting life from deadly infectious viruses is the biggest challenge at this moment. Filtration is well-recognized technology to prevent contamination by stopping the ejection of viruses in water and air. Membrane made from eco-friendly cellulose and its derivatives have increased interest due to their versatile effectiveness in eliminating viruses. However, due to originating new viruses or their frequent mutation, researchers are constantly introduced new technologies. They have been customized the membrane composition, structures and manufacturing process by manipulating various polymers, metal nanoparticles, antiviral agents, radiation etc. depending on the nature, sizes, and specificity of viruses. The review assesses the research published in the last 15 years on the development of cellulose-based membrane and their virus retention techniques. In this review, we discuss various membrane filtration and virus inactivation technologies for the elimination of virus from air, water and biopharmaceutical sources. We start with fundamental aspects of cellulose-based membrane and their usage in conventional filtrations like microfiltration, ultrafiltration nanofiltration, etc. Then, we have added a number method of cellulose membrane modification such as treatments with metal-nanoparticles, electrospinning of regenerated cellulose, UV irradiation treatment, blend with synthetic polymers, and various functionalization approaches. Furthermore, the virus retention capabilities of modified membranes whenever connected with single and hybrid filtration systems are presented herein. Overall, this review accumulates extensive studies by focusing on the developments, highlights the gaps and offer future recommendations for developing new technology to get high performance from the cellulose-based membrane.

Creating 'COVID-safe' face-to-face teaching: Critical reflections on on-campus teaching during a pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2019 meant higher education was forced to delivering education online. For most, the transition to emergency remote teaching was a natural next step to support continuity of education. However, there were some examples where education remained on campus. Where after taking all COVID-19 safety measures of social distancing, hand hygiene measures and other health protocols, institutions decided to continue to deliver face-to-face on-campus offerings with limited capacity. The COVID-19 and higher education literature have focused primarily on rapid digitalisation. This manuscript adds value to the literature by focusing on three case studies of on-campus delivery for face-to-face teaching in the classroom and practical lessons during the pandemic in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Pakistan. The changes to the learning process affected students' interactions with the lecturer, other students, and the equipment they were learning to use. Also, it affected interactions with each other in practical activities due to limited numbers of participants, motivation in learning and achieving learning outcomes. Not only the students, but the lecturer's capability in delivering the course was affected by fatigue due to spending more time teaching within a 'COVID-19 safe' environment. This study will provide important documentation on the effect of COVID-19 on on-campus delivery, as well as opportunities to support greater student engagement in class environments through the sharing of learning equipment, fostering positive motivation, managing learning outcomes, and self-monitoring of lecturer capability in more highly stressful teaching and learning environments practical training affected.