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The proportion of COVID-19 patients is significantly expanding around the world. Treatment with serious consideration has become a significant problem. Identifying clinical indicators of succession towards severe conditions is desperately required to empower hazard stratification and optimise resource allocation in the pandemic of COVID-19. Consequently, the classification of severity level is significant for the patient's triaging. It is required to categorise the severity level as mild, moderate, severe, and critical based on the patients' symptoms. Various symptomatic parameters may encourage the evaluation of infection seriousness. Likewise, with the rapid spread and transmissibility of COVID-19 patients, it is crucial to utilise telemonitoring schemes for COVID-19 patients. Telemonitoring mediation encourages remote data and information exchange among medicinal services, suppliers, and patients, furthermore, risk mitigation and provision of appropriate medical facilities. This paper provides explorative data analysis of symptoms, comorbidities, and other parameters, comparing different machine learning algorithms for case severity detection. This paper also provides a system (based on the degree of truthfulness) for case severity detection that might be utilised to stratify risk levels for anticipated moderate and severe COVID-19 patients. Finally, we provide a telemonitoring model of COVID-19 patients to ensure the remote and continuous monitoring of case severity progression and appropriate risk mitigation strategies. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Experimental & Theoretical Artificial Intelligence is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
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The SARS COV-2 and its variants are spreading around the world at an alarming speed, due to its higher transmissibility and the conformational changes caused by mutations. The resulting COVID-19 pandemic has imposed severe health consequences on human health. Several countries of the world including Pakistan have studied its genome extensively and provided productive findings. In the current study, the mCSM, DynaMut2, and I-Mutant servers were used to analyze the effect of identified mutations on the structural stability of spike protein however, the molecular docking and simulations approaches were used to evaluate the dynamics of the bonding network between the wild-type and mutant spike proteins with furin. We addressed the mutational modifications that have occurred in the spike protein of SARS-COV-2 that were found in 215 Pakistani's isolates of COVID-19 patients to study the influence of mutations on the stability of the protein and its interaction with the host cell. We found 7 single amino acid substitute mutations in various domains that reside in spike protein. The H49Y, N74K, G181V, and G446V were found in the S1 domain while the D614A, V622F, and Q677H mutations were found in the central helices of the spike protein. Based on the observation, G181V, G446V, D614A, and V622F mutants were found highly destabilizing and responsible for structural perturbation. Protein-protein docking and molecular simulation analysis with that of furin have predicted that all the mutants enhanced the binding efficiency however, the V622F mutant has greatly altered the binding capacity which is further verified by the KD value (7.1 E-14) and therefore may enhance the spike protein cleavage by Furin and increase the rate of infectivity by SARS-CoV-2. On the other hand, the total binding energy for each complex was calculated which revealed -50.57 kcal/mol for the wild type, for G181V -52.69 kcal/mol, for G446V -56.44 kcal/mol, for D614A -59.78 kcal/mol while for V622F the TBE was calculated to be -85.84 kcal/mol. Overall, the current finding shows that these mutations have increased the binding of Furin for spike protein and shows that D614A and V622F have significant effects on the binding and infectivity.
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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s40747-022-00767-w.].
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Objective The study was conducted to examine academic cheating behaviors and perceived online effectiveness on academic performance during the period of COVID-19 among schools, colleges, and university students in Pakistan. Methodology A cross-sectional research design was used in the current study. Convenience sampling was used to collect the data. The study included a total sample of N = 8,590 students, with males (n = 3,270, 38%) and females (n = 5,320, 61%) participating. The data was divided into three categories: high schools (n = 1,098, 12.7%), colleges (n = 4,742, 55.2%), and universities (n = 2,570, 32.1%). School students had an average age of (M = 15, SD = 4.65), college students had an average age of (M = 20, SD = 5.64), and university students had an average age of (M = 24, SD = 5.01). Result The results indicated that 60% of students admitted to cheating during online exams most of the time;30% of students admitted to cheating at least once during an online exam. The study found that students (from high school, college, and university) obtained higher grades in online exams as compared to physical exams. Furthermore, significant gender differences were found on the scales of online learning effectiveness in school, college, and university students (t = 2.3*, p = 0.05 vs. t = 4.32**, p = 0.000 vs. t = −3.3*, p = 0.04). Similarly, on the scale of academic performance, students have significant gender differences. Multivariate regression analysis confirms that students' 26% academic performance was increased due to cheating (F (2, 8,588) = 16.24, p = 0.000). Students believe online learning is effective because academic grades are easily obtained. Conclusion Cheating is more common and easier in online courses, according to more than half of respondents, and they take advantage of this. Academicians are heavily encouraged to develop morality and ethics in their students so that their institutions can produce ethical professionals for the educational community.
ABSTRACT
The SARS COV-2 and its variants are spreading around the world at an alarming speed, due to its higher transmissibility and the conformational changes caused by mutations. The resulting COVID-19 pandemic has imposed severe health consequences on human health. Several countries of the world including Pakistan have studied its genome extensively and provided productive findings. In the current study, the mCSM, DynaMut2, and I-Mutant servers were used to analyze the effect of identified mutations on the structural stability of spike protein however, the molecular docking and simulations approaches were used to evaluate the dynamics of the bonding network between the wild-type and mutant spike proteins with furin. We addressed the mutational modifications that have occurred in the spike protein of SARS-COV-2 that were found in 215 Pakistani's isolates of COVID-19 patients to study the influence of mutations on the stability of the protein and its interaction with the host cell. We found 7 single amino acid substitute mutations in various domains that reside in spike protein. The H49Y, N74K, G181V, and G446V were found in the S1 domain while the D614A, V622F, and Q677H mutations were found in the central helices of the spike protein. Based on the observation, G181V, G446V, D614A, and V622F mutants were found highly destabilizing and responsible for structural perturbation. Protein-protein docking and molecular simulation analysis with that of furin have predicted that all the mutants enhanced the binding efficiency however, the V622F mutant has greatly altered the binding capacity which is further verified by the KD value (7.1 E−14) and therefore may enhance the spike protein cleavage by Furin and increase the rate of infectivity by SARS-CoV-2. On the other hand, the total binding energy for each complex was calculated which revealed −50.57 kcal/mol for the wild type, for G181V −52.69 kcal/mol, for G446V −56.44 kcal/mol, for D614A −59.78 kcal/mol while for V622F the TBE was calculated to be −85.84 kcal/mol. Overall, the current finding shows that these mutations have increased the binding of Furin for spike protein and shows that D614A and V622F have significant effects on the binding and infectivity.
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Extensive research has been conducted on healthcare technology and service advancements during the last decade. The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) has demonstrated the ability to connect various medical apparatus, sensors, and healthcare specialists to ensure the best medical treatment in a distant location. Patient safety has improved, healthcare prices have decreased dramatically, healthcare services have become more approachable, and the operational efficiency of the healthcare industry has increased. This research paper offers a recent review of current and future healthcare applications, security, market trends, and IoMT-based technology implementation. This research paper analyses the advancement of IoMT implementation in addressing various healthcare concerns from the perspectives of enabling technologies, healthcare applications, and services. The potential obstacles and issues of the IoMT system are also discussed. Finally, the survey includes a comprehensive overview of different disciplines of IoMT to empower future researchers who are eager to work on and make advances in the field to obtain a better understanding of the domain.
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Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a serious condition that can result in numerous negative outcomes including death. The underlying causes of AP are varied, with both COVID-19 and hypertriglyceridemia being documented in the medical literature. Here, we present the case of a young man with a pre-existing diagnosis of prediabetes and class 1 obesity who developed severe hypertriglyceridemia, AP, and mild diabetic ketoacidosis while concurrently infected with COVID-19. It is crucial for healthcare providers to be vigilant in recognizing the potential complications associated with COVID-19, regardless of whether the patient has received a vaccination.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is arguably one of the greatest public health crises since the 1918 influenza pandemic. Although several vaccines have been approved and rolled out, effective antiviral treatment options are very limited. Here, we present a case of severe COVID-19 that failed to respond to the standard interventions and continued to deteriorate. On day 22 of his illness, after informed consent, the patient was administered 4000IU of erythropoietin (EPO) subcutaneously, in the hope of improving his O2 saturation. Positive response was observed in the patient within 24 hours. This prompted us to continued EPO treatment for a total of 42 days until full recovery and discharge. Our findings warrant further studies to ascertain the use of EPO in severe cases COVID-19.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is arguably one of the greatest public health crises since the 1918 influenza pandemic. Although several vaccines have been approved and rolled out, effective antiviral treatment options are very limited. Here, we present a case of severe COVID-19 that failed to respond to the standard interventions and continued to deteriorate. On day 22 of his illness, after informed consent, the patient was administered 4000IU of erythropoietin (EPO) subcutaneously, in the hope of improving his O2 saturation. Positive response was observed in the patient within 24 hours. This prompted us to continued EPO treatment for a total of 42 days until full recovery and discharge. Our findings warrant further studies to ascertain the use of EPO in severe cases COVID-19.
Subject(s)
Antiviral Agents , COVID-19 , Erythropoietin , Humans , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , COVID-19/epidemiology , Erythropoietin/therapeutic use , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
Background: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic disease considered to be triggered by viral infections in a majority of cases. Symptoms overlap largely with those of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19/long-COVID implying common pathogenetic mechanisms. SARS-CoV-2 infection is risk factor for sustained latent virus reactivation that may account for the symptoms of post-viral fatigue syndromes. The aim of this study was first to investigate whether patients with ME/CFS and healthy donors (HDs) differed in their antibody response to mild/asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Secondly, to analyze whether COVID-19 imposes latent virus reactivation in the cohorts. Methods: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were analyzed in plasma and saliva from non-vaccinated ME/CFS (n=95) and HDs (n=110) using soluble multiplex immunoassay. Reactivation of human herpesviruses 1-6 (HSV1, HSV2, VZV, EBV, CMV, HHV6), and human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) was detected by anti-viral antibody fingerprints in saliva. Results: At 3-6 months after mild/asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, virus-specific antibodies in saliva were substantially induced signifying a strong reactivation of latent viruses (EBV, HHV6 and HERV-K) in both cohorts. In patients with ME/CFS, antibody responses were significantly stronger, in particular EBV-encoded nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA1) IgG were elevated in patients with ME/CFS, but not in HDs. EBV-VCA IgG was also elevated at baseline prior to SARS-infection in patients compared to HDs. Conclusion: Our results denote an altered and chronically aroused anti-viral profile against latent viruses in ME/CFS. SARS-CoV-2 infection even in its mild/asymptomatic form is a potent trigger for reactivation of latent herpesviruses (EBV, HHV6) and endogenous retroviruses (HERV-K), as detected by antibody fingerprints locally in the oral mucosa (saliva samples). This has not been shown before because the antibody elevation is not detected systemically in the circulation/plasma.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Endogenous Retroviruses , Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic , Herpesvirus 6, Human , Humans , Saliva , SARS-CoV-2 , Antibodies, Viral , Immunoglobulin A, Secretory , Immunoglobulin G , Post-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeABSTRACT
COVID-19 caused online buying channels to flourish across the globe. However, the extent to which online channels in Pakistan assisted peoples in coping with the pandemic remains unknown. This study aims to examine peoples behavior and perceptions regarding online food purchasing and its impact on different aspects of food security. The data were collected through online surveys of 1067 respondents in Punjab and Sindh provinces during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that peoples access to food was adversely affected by the pandemic. However, people are increasingly purchasing food online, which has improved their accessibility to food. According to the findings, 62.51% of respondents reported to have changed their perception and behavior regarding online food purchasing. In addition, almost 46.40% of peoples reported that online shopping increased their access to food during the pandemic. Using logit regression, economic analysis shows that education, monthly income, and access to basic necessities such as clean drinking water, better sanitation, and better employment are positively related to online buying behavior. For future disaster situations in Pakistan to mitigate the adverse effects on food security, strengthening and promoting the use of online purchasing channels could be an important policy instrument.
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The COVID-19 restrictions have impacted people's lifestyles in all spheres (social, psychological, political, economic, and others). This study explored which factors affected the level of anxiety during the time of the first wave of COVID-19 and subsequent quarantine in a substantial proportion of 23 countries, included in this study. The data was collected from May to August 2020 (5 June 2020). The sample included 15,375 participants from 23 countries: (seven from Europe: Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Russia; 11 from West, South and Southeast Asia: Armenia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey; two African: Nigeria and Tanzania; and three from North, South, and Central America: Brazil, Canada, United States). Level of anxiety was measured by means of the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and the 20-item first part of The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)-State Anxiety Inventory (SAI). Respondents were also asked about their personal experiences with COVID-19, attitudes toward measures introduced by governments, changes in attitudes toward migrants during a pandemic, family income, isolation conditions, etc. The factor analysis revealed that four factors explained 45.08% of variance in increase of anxiety, and these components were interpreted as follows: (1) personal awareness of the threat of COVID-19, (2) personal reaction toward officially undertaken measures and attitudes to foreigners, (3) personal trust in official sources, (4) personal experience with COVID-19. Three out of four factors demonstrated strong associations with both scales of anxiety: high level of anxiety was significantly correlated with high level of personal awareness of the threat of COVID-19, low level of personal reaction toward officially undertaken measures and attitudes to foreigners, and high level of presence of personal experience with COVID-19. Our study revealed significant main effects of sex, country, and all four factors on the level of anxiety. It was demonstrated that countries with higher levels of anxiety assessed the real danger of a pandemic as higher, and had more personal experience with COVID-19. Respondents who trusted the government demonstrated lower levels of anxiety. Finally, foreigners were perceived as the cause of epidemic spread.
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A majority of SARS-CoV-2 recoverees develop only mild-to-moderate symptoms, while some remain completely asymptomatic. Although viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, may evade host immune responses by epigenetic mechanisms including DNA methylation, little is known about whether these modifications are important in defence against and healthy recovery from COVID-19 in the host. To this end, epigenome-wide DNA methylation patterns from COVID-19 convalescents were compared to uninfected controls from before and after the pandemic. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) DNA was extracted from uninfected controls, COVID-19 convalescents, and symptom-free individuals with SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell-responses, as well as from PBMCs stimulated in vitro with SARS-CoV-2. Subsequently, the Illumina MethylationEPIC 850K array was performed, and statistical/bioinformatic analyses comprised differential DNA methylation, pathway over-representation, and module identification analyses. Differential DNA methylation patterns distinguished COVID-19 convalescents from uninfected controls, with similar results in an experimental SARS-CoV-2 infection model. A SARS-CoV-2-induced module was identified in vivo, comprising 66 genes of which six (TP53, INS, HSPA4, SP1, ESR1, and FAS) were present in corresponding in vitro analyses. Over-representation analyses revealed involvement in Wnt, muscarinic acetylcholine receptor signalling, and gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor pathways. Furthermore, numerous differentially methylated and network genes from both settings interacted with the SARS-CoV-2 interactome. Altered DNA methylation patterns of COVID-19 convalescents suggest recovery from mild-to-moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection leaves longstanding epigenetic traces. Both in vitro and in vivo exposure caused epigenetic modulation of pathways thataffect odour perception. Future studies should determine whether this reflects host-induced protective antiviral defense or targeted viral hijacking to evade host defence.
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COVID-19 , SARS-CoV-2 , Humans , COVID-19/genetics , Leukocytes, Mononuclear , Odorants , DNA Methylation , Epigenesis, Genetic , PerceptionABSTRACT
Global equity markets experienced a substantial downfall with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the peak of the downfall, S&P Dow Jones reported that their Islamic equity indexes (IEIs) continued to outperform their conventional counterparts in the first quarter of 2020. The equity markets have since recovered and have touched historical peaks. This study empirically investigates how Islamic equity investment weathered the troughs and peaks of equity markets during the COVID-19 pandemic by using a sample consisting of global, US, European, and Asian IEIs, and daily data for the period starting from 01 May 2018 to 30 April 2021. During the COVID-19 period, we find that IEIs exhibit significant excess returns on a nominal and risk-adjusted basis. We find evidence to suggest that IEIs do provide resistance/hedging during extreme market downfalls, albeit only those adhering to the market-value-of-equity (MVE) approach for Shariah screening. As a caution to investors, the hedging benefit associated with IEIs is observed only when there is a big swing in the market.
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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate safe-haven properties of environmental, social and governance (ESG) stocks in global and emerging ESG stock markets during the times of COVID-19 so that portfolio managers and equity market investors could decide to use ESG stocks in their portfolio hedging strategies during times of health and market crisis similar to COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a wavelet coherence framework on four major ESG stock indices from global and emerging stock markets, and two proxies of COVID-19 fear over the period from 5 February 2020 to 18 March 2021.FindingsThe results of the study show a positive co-movement of the global COVID-19 fear index (GFI) with ESG stock indices on the frequency band of 32 to 64 days, which confirms hedging and safe-haven properties of ESG stocks using the health fear proxy of COVID-19. However, the relationship between all indices and GFI is mixed and inconclusive on a frequency of 0–8 days. Further, the findings do not support the safe-haven characteristics of ESG indices using the market fear proxy (IDEMV index) of COVID-19. The robustness analysis using the CBOE VIX as a proxy of market fear supports that ESG indices do not possess safe-haven properties. The results of the study conclude that the safe-haven properties of ESG indices during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is contingent upon the proxy of COVID-19 fear.Practical implicationsThe findings have important implications for the equity investors and assetty managers to improve their portfolio performance by including ESG stocks in their portfolio choice during the COVID-19 pandemic and similar health crisis. However, their investment decisions could be affected by the choice of COVID-19 proxy.Originality/valueThe authors believe in the originality of the paper due to following reasons. First, to the best of the knowledge, this is the first study investigating the safe-haven properties of ESG stocks. Second, the authors use both health fear (GFI) and market fear (IDEMV index) proxies of COVID-19 to compare whether safe-haven properties are characterized by health fear or market fear due to COVID-19. Finally, the authors use the wavelet coherency framework, which not only takes both time and frequency dimensions of the data into account but also remains unaffected by data stationarity and size issues.
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While operating side-by-side with conventional banks, in a dual-banking system, the systemic risk profile of Islamic banks can be different due to their unique business model. The objective of this study is to understand the evolution of systemic risk in dual-banking systems and determine whether there are any differences in the systemic risk profiles of conventional and Islamic banks during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also identifies the determinants of systemic importance (measured using spillover indices) of financial institutions. The sample includes ten countries where the Islamic banking sector is considered systemically important and covers the period from November 2015 to November 2020. The empirical results indicate a significant increase in systemic risk, in the sample countries, during the first half which is followed by a recovery in the second half of 2020. Comparative analysis shows that Islamic banks have similar systemic vulnerabilities to systematic and idiosyncratic factors during the exogenously induced real economic shock of the COVID-19. However, Islamic banks pose significantly less spillover to others relative to conventional banks while earning abnormal returns. The results are robust to the inclusion of macroeconomic factors and alternate estimation methodologies. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for the regulators of dual-banking systems.
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The current study sought to ascertain the impact of inter-parent conflicts on teenage psychological distress, social and academic adjustment and examine the suicide ideation during the COVID-19. The results found to be alarming as 22% of the individuals displayed suicidal tendencies, with 9% having attempted suicide once, 4.6% having tried suicide twice, and 11% stating that they were likely to do so again. Therefore, the media and the government might host awareness programs and counseling initiatives to promote mental health and prevent suicidal behavior. Moreover, parents may be educated on community level, about the effect of inter-parental arguments on the mental health of their children.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 Vaccines/administration & dosage , COVID-19/prevention & control , Poliomyelitis/prevention & control , Poliovirus Vaccines/administration & dosage , Afghanistan/epidemiology , COVID-19/virology , Child , Humans , Pakistan/epidemiology , Poliomyelitis/epidemiology , SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purificationABSTRACT
This study was conducted to assess social media (SM) use, psychological distress, and knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) regarding the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among a sample of the population of Pakistan. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Multan, Pakistan between April and May 2020. Demographics details, SM use, psychological distress, and KAP on the COVID-19 were investigated. A total of 800 respondents were analyzed out of which 33.5% (n = 268) were women. No gender-wise difference was found in the terms of SM use and duration of SM use. Women were prone to have psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, and stress than men in the current COVID-19 pandemic. The mean knowledge score of men was significantly higher compared to women (18.69 ± 4.20 vs. 16.89 ± 3.04, p < 0.001), while the mean score of the attitude and practices on the COVID-19 prevention measures was significantly better in women (p = 0.012 and p < 0.001, respectively). The psychological problems such as anxiety (p < 0.001) and depression scores (p = 0.033) were higher among women than men. The stress score was also higher in women but not significantly higher (p = 0.079). The knowledge was significantly correlated with attitude, anxiety, depression, and stress. The regression analysis showed that the COVID-19-related KAPs are the predictors of psychological suffering of an individual. The female gender was positively associated with anxiety and depression. The SM use was the predictor of the stress. Male respondents had significantly more knowledge of the COVID-19 than female respondents, but women had significantly better attitudes and practiced the COVID-19 prevention measures. Gender is a significant determinant of psychological distress and KAP about the COVID-19. The government has already taken significant steps to limit the spread of the disease; however, much more effort is required to tackle this COVID-19 pandemic.