SIMULATIONS AND ANALYSIS OF COVID-19 AS A FRACTIONAL MODEL WITH DIFFERENT KERNELS

Recently, Atangana proposed new operators by combining fractional and fractal calculus. These recently proposed operators, referred to as fractal–fractional operators, have been widely used to study complex dynamics. In this paper, the COVID-19 model is considered via Atangana–Baleanu fractal-fractional operator. The Lyapunov stability for the model is derived for first and second derivative. Numerical results have developed through Lagrangian-piecewise interpolation for the different fractal–fractional operators. We develop numerical outcomes through different differential and integral fractional operators like power-law, exponential law, and Mittag-Leffler kernel. To get a better outcome of the proposed scheme, numerical simulation is made with different kernels having the memory effects with fractional parameters. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Fractals is the property of World Scientific Publishing Company 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.)

Otorhinolaryngological presentations of mucormycosis amid COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary care hospital.

Objective: To describe presentations, comorbidities, investigations, and surgical treatment of patients with mucormycosis amid the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary care hospital in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted at the department of ENT, and Head and Neck Surgery, Medical Teaching Institute, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan from June 2020 to June 2021. All the patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included. Patients with COVID-19 were diagnosed based on real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). After diagnosing mucormycosis computed tomography (CT) scan and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed for subsequent surgical clearance. After taking informed consent demographic data were collected on a proforma and analyzed using SPPS version 25. Results: Out of 23 patients males were 14(60.9%), females were 9 (39.1%) with a male: female ratio of 1.5:1. Mean ± SD age was 51.26 ± 1.41 years. Nasal obstruction and headache were the most common (8, 34.8%) presentations. The commonest co-morbidities were hypertension with diabetes mellitus (8, 34.8%). Out of 23 patients, 16(69.6%) had COVID-19 PCR positive. The majority of patients (17, 73.9%) were not vaccinated against COVID-19. Most of the patients (9, 39.1%) had HbA1c levels of 7% to 8.9%. The commonest surgery was endoscopic debridement of paranasal sinuses (9, 39.1%), while the commonest CT scan finding was a heterogeneous lesion involving the nose, maxillary and ethmoid sinuses (12, 52.2%). Conclusion: Mucormycosis of paranasal sinuses with/or without intracranial extension is frequently seen in unvaccinated patients having uncontrolled diabetes and COVID-19 infection.

Exploiting the co-crystal ligands shape, features and structure-based approaches for identification of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors.

SARS-CoV-2 enters the host cell through the ACE2 receptor and replicates its genome using an RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase (RDRP). The functional RDRP is released from pro-protein pp1ab by the proteolytic activity of Main protease (Mpro) which is encoded within the viral genome. Due to its vital role in proteolysis of viral polyprotein chains, it has become an attractive potential drug target. We employed a hierarchical virtual screening approach to identify small synthetic protease inhibitors. Statistically optimized molecular shape and color-based features (various functional groups) from co-crystal ligands were used to screen different databases through various scoring schemes. Then, the electrostatic complementarity of screened compounds was matched with the most active molecule to further reduce the hit molecules' size. Finally, five hundred eighty-seven molecules were docked in Mpro catalytic binding site, out of which 29 common best hits were selected based on Glide and FRED scores. Five best-fitting compounds in complex with Mpro were subjected to MD simulations to analyze their structural stability and binding affinities with Mpro using MM/GB(PB)SA models. Modeling results suggest that identified hits can act as the lead compounds for designing better active Mpro inhibitors to enhance the chemical space to combat COVID-19.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Impact of employees’ internal factors and job performance on organizational commitment in government organizations during COVID-19: Evidence from Kuwait

Modern hiring practices based on qualification, gender discrimination, person-job fit, and life satisfaction can allow employees to perform effectively and significantly contribute to organizational commitment. Thus, the study aims to develop and test a structural model that integrates the relationships between overqualification, life satisfaction, person-job fit, employees’ job performance, and organizational commitment during the COVID-19 pandemic in the public organizations of Kuwait. The person-job fit theory was applied to obtain fair results. Thus, the data were collected from 275 employees working in healthcare institutions, the education sector, and the Ministry of Defense in Kuwait. Overall, the results show a significant and direct impact of overqualification and life satisfaction on employees’ job performance;accordingly, employees’ job performance also affects organizational commitment. Thus, results indicate that person-job fit negatively affects employees’ job performance. Surprisingly, employees’ job performance mediates the relationship between overqualification, life satisfaction, and organizational commitment. However, employees’ job performance does not mediate the relationship between person-job fit and organizational commitment. The current paper contributes to understanding the broad impact of overqualification, life satisfaction, and employees’ job performance on organizational commitment during the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly in public organizations.

HCC surveillance program in a nurse-led clinic: assessing adherence to guidelines and possibility of reducing pressure on services by applying AMAP score

BackgroundNICE recommends offering 6 monthly surveillance with USS for all cirrhotic patients with an exception for patients identified for end-of-life care. But surveillance intervals are often missed when care is delivered through Consultant-led clinics. Having introduced a nurse-led stable cirrhosis clinic in 2016, we assessed whether the recommended interval was being achieved and what impact the ‘aMAP’ score stratifying annual HCC risk as low (<0.2%), medium (1%) and high (4%) might have on service utilisation.MethodsA retrospective review of all patients attending our nurse-led stable cirrhosis clinic. The review included demographic data, aetiology of liver disease, and calculation of aMAP (age, gender, albumin-bilirubin) scores using parameters from initial clinic visits. We assessed adherence to the twice-yearly US scan since our adaptation of NICE guidelines in 2018.ResultsBetween 2016–2018, 117 (49 female) cirrhotic patients were enrolled in the clinic. The majority of the patients had ALD (55) and NASH (24). Other aetiologies: HCV, HFE and PBC. All patients had Child A disease except 7 with Child B7–8. 13/117 patients were excluded from the surveillance because of other co-morbidities and age. Of the remaining, 90(87%) patients had their USS at 6 months interval, 2(2%) missed only one scan (not requested by clinician), 7(7%) failed to attend their appointments, 5(4%) either declined surveillance or were lost to follow up. aMAP score identified 70/104(67%) high risk, 29(28%) medium risk and only 5(5%) low risk for HCC. HCC was diagnosed in 4/104 patients after 3 years of follow-up (2 medium risks;2 high risks). Death was reported in 10 (1HCC;4 liver failure;3 other cancers;1 post-operative complication;1 sepsis). Despite interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, no HCC was diagnosed in 1st US scan after restarting the services.ConclusionsHCC surveillance organised through a dedicated nurse-led stable cirrhosis clinic can achieve excellent adherence to planned USS intervals. Only a small number were identified as low risk within our cohort using the aMAP score offering limited opportunity to reduce the volume of USS for this indication in Derby.

Consumers’ perceived value and use intention of cashless payment in the physical distancing context: evidence from an Asian emerging market

Purpose COVID-19 and its measures such as physical distancing have shifted consumer payment behaviors toward cashless payment. Physical distancing is likely to remain a norm for some time to come and will be relevant in any future pandemics. This study aims to examine the impact of consumers' perceived value of cashless payment on their use intention in the physical distancing context, with the mediating role of psychological safety and the moderating role of trust propensity. Design/methodology/approach This study used a survey method to obtain data from 690 consumers in an Asian emerging market, i.e. Vietnam. The data were analyzed using different statistical methods, including structural equation modeling. Findings Results show that perceived value of cashless payment positively affects use intention, and this effect is mediated by psychological safety. Furthermore, trust propensity has a positive moderating effect on the link between perceived value and psychological safety. Practical implications This study's findings provide implications for retailers and other stakeholders in implementing and promoting cashless payment systems, especially in the physical distancing context. Originality/value This study is among the first attempt to explain the relationships between consumers' perceptions, feelings of psychological safety and use intention toward cashless payment in the physical distancing context. The study's findings may also be relevant to any future pandemics.

COVIDPUBGRAPH: A FAIR Knowledge Graph of COVID-19 Publications.

The rapid generation of large amounts of information about the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the disease COVID-19 makes it increasingly difficult to gain a comprehensive overview of current insights related to the disease. With this work, we aim to support the rapid access to a comprehensive data source on COVID-19 targeted especially at researchers. Our knowledge graph, COVIDPUBGRAPH, an RDF knowledge graph of scientific publications, abides by the Linked Data and FAIR principles. The base dataset for the extraction is CORD-19, a dataset of COVID-19-related publications, which is updated regularly. Consequently, COVIDPUBGRAPH is updated biweekly. Our generation pipeline applies named entity recognition, entity linking and link discovery approaches to the original data. The current version of COVIDPUBGRAPH contains 268,108,670 triples and is linked to 9 other datasets by over 1 million links. In our use case studies, we demonstrate the usefulness of our knowledge graph for different applications. COVIDPUBGRAPH is publicly available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

Assessing the Mediating Role of Safety Communication Between Safety Culture and Employees Safety Performance.

The main purpose of this research was to investigate the mediating role of safety communication (SCO) in the relationship between safety culture (SC) and safety performance (SP) amongst employees in the petrochemical industry. Safety communication methods not only enhance working conditions but also have a positive impact on employee's behaviors and attitudes toward safety leading toward reduced incidents in the workplace environment. A stratified sampling method was followed to collect data in the petrochemical industry in Malaysia. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to analyze the hypothesized model, using data from 320 participants. The findings reveal that safety communication partially mediates the association between safety culture and safety performance. Further, safety culture was found to have a significant and positive effect on safety performance. This -study makes a significant theoretical contribution by providing empirical evidence on the direct and indirect relationship between safety culture and safety performance in the petrochemical industry.

Self-control Mediates the Relationship between Psychosocial Strengths and Perceived Severity of COVID-19 among Frontline Healthcare Professionals of Pakistan: A Single Center Experience.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between psychosocial strengths (resilience, self-efficacy beliefs and social support) and perceived severity of COVID-19 and also to gauge the mediating role of self-control among frontline health care professionals of Pakistan. METHODS: A cross-sectional research design was utilized from March to April 2020 from one medical teaching hospital of South Punjab. As it was a single center experience so all the doctors were approached and asked to participate in this research. In total, 284 doctors (out of 300 approx.) completed online survey. The data were collected through online google forms consisting of self-report measures i.e. Brief Resilience Scale, Short General Self Efficacy Scale, Brief Scale for Social Support, Risk Behavior Diagnostic Scale and Brief Self-Control Scale. RESULTS: The results were analyzed by using SmartPLS (3.0), direct effect of psychosocial strengths on perceived severity of COVID-19 and indirect effect of self-control were assessed through path coefficients, t-values and r-square values. The results confirmed that there was significant negative relationship between psychosocial strengths and perceived severity of COVID-19 (ß = -0.854, t =14.279) with 72% variance in perceived severity due to psychosocial strengths. Further, the results also suggest that self-control proved significant mediator between psychosocial strengths and perceived severity (ß = -0.604, t = 11.004, variance in perceived severity is 74%). CONCLUSION: In the time of pandemic, medical professionals are working as frontline force and can have several uncertainties regarding the risk associated with outbreak of COVID-19. This study concludes psychosocial strengths can play a significant role in subsiding the risk associated with severity of disease. Whereas, self-control can significantly contribute to buffer the negative influence of COVID-19 among frontline medical professionals. In line with findings of this study, there is a dire need to initiate psychotherapeutic studies for medical professionals to boost up their psychosocial strengths that would make them resilient against COVID-19.

COVID-19 in a Dermatologist's Clinic: A Case From Pakistan.

SARS-CoV-2 is a novel virus that is the causative agent of COVID-19. It can affect a variety of human organ systems, including the skin. Five clinical patterns of this infection have been described. These patterns not only help in diagnosing the disease but are also helpful in predicting the severity of infection. The percentage of dermatological manifestations of COVID-19 is highly variable in different regions of the world, with some western countries reporting the percentage as high as 20%. However, the data from Asia, especially Pakistan, in this regard is sparse. We report a case of COVID-19 infection (PCR proven) with maculopapular eruption. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of its kind being reported from Pakistan. We would encourage our fellow physicians to report more such cases so that the dermatological pattern of COVID-19 in Pakistan can be appropriately categorized in the literature.

A Cross-Sectional Survey of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of University Students in Pakistan Regarding COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic is striking the world with serious public health and socioeconomic complications. The pandemic has influenced all forms of daily life, including educational institutions. Therefore, this cross-sectional survey was conducted to understand knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to COVID-19 among the students of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore. The data was collected using an online self-directed questionnaire. The survey form includes six items about sociodemographic characteristics, 14 knowledge-based questions, seven questions on attitude, and eight questions on practices. The sample number was calculated using the Raosoft sample size calculator. A total number of 3,854 students, including 1,823 men and 2,031 women, were engaged in this survey, having student representation from all the provinces in the country. The data were analyzed using a chi-square test. A total of 97% of the students knew that the etiological agent of COVID-19 is a virus and that it is a disease of the respiratory system (94%). Many students kept visiting their relatives during the lockdown (45%), and their relatives kept visiting them at home (59%). The responses from the students varied a lot on specific questions about the transmission of the virus. Women tended to have less information regarding precautionary travel measures (p < 0.01), but supplemental knowledge of prevention of disease transmission from positive patients (p < 0.01). Conclusively, the majority of the university students surveyed had imperative knowledge, a good attitude, and active practice in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, the KAP scores have varied by demography, gender, and the number of family members. Therefore, continuous awareness of preventative behaviors should be disseminated regularly in emergencies.

Co-infections and antimicrobial use among hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Punjab, Pakistan: findings from a multicenter, point prevalence survey.

There are reports of high rates of antibiotic prescribing among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 around the world. To date, however, there are few reports of prescribing in relation to COVID-19 in Pakistan. Herein, we describe a point prevalence survey of antibiotic prescribing amongst patients hospitalized with suspected or proven COVID-19 in Pakistan. A Point Prevalence Survey (PPS) was undertaken in seven tertiary care health facilities in Punjab Provence, Pakistan. Baseline information about antimicrobial use according to the World Health Organization (WHO) standardized methodology was collected on a single day between 5th and 30 April 2021. A total of 617 patients' records were reviewed and 578 (97.3%) were documented to be receiving an antibiotic on the day of the survey. The majority (84.9%) were COVID-19 PCR positive, 61.1% were male and 34.9% were age 36 to 44 years. One quarter presented with severe disease, and cardiovascular disease was the major comorbidity in 13%. Secondary bacterial infection or co-infection (bacterial infection concurrent with COVID-19) was identified in only 1.4%. On the day of the survey, a mean of 1.7 antibiotics was prescribed per patient and 85.4% antibiotics were recorded as being prescribed for 'prophylaxis'. The most frequently prescribed antibiotics were azithromycin (35.6%), ceftriaxone (32.9%) and meropenem (7.6%). The majority (96.3%) of the antibiotics were empirical and all were from WHO Watch or Reserve categories. Overall, a very high consumption of antibiotics in patients hospitalized with suspected or proven COVID-19 was observed in Pakistan and this is concerning in view of already high rates of antimicrobial resistance in the region. Antimicrobial stewardship programs need to urgently address unnecessary prescribing in the context of COVID-19 infection.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Depressive Symptoms among Pakistani Population during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Regression Analysis.

Over a span of 1 year, with millions infected, COVID-19 has spread to every part of the world and now poses a health threat to each and every one of us. The outbreak has consequently resulted in multiple health problems such as stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, insomnia, panic, and denial globally. Several factors have contributed to this rising number of psychiatric consults all over the world. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Pakistani population during the second wave of the pandemic in this region. We conducted an online web-based cross-sectional survey comprising 500 participants. The questionnaire assessed the demographic information, attitude, and knowledge concerning COVID-19 outbreak in addition to generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) utilizing the GAD-7 scale and depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiology Scale for Depression (CES-D) scale. The response rate of the study was 90.9%. The results of the survey indicated a prevalence of 25.4% of GAD, and 18.8% of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, nearly 34.8% of participants feared contracting COVID-19, 62.8% obtained constant critical updates regarding COVID-19, while 17.6% did not understand the knowledge regarding COVID-19. In the multivariate regression models, GAD was significantly associated with gender, age, and checking constantly of critical updates regarding COVID-19. Similarly, participants under 30 years had a higher risk of developing depressive symptoms than those above (> 30 years). Lastly, participants with no formal education were also found to be more prone to developing depression. We identified a potential threat to mental health during the pandemic.

Impact of Perceived Severity of COVID-19 (SARS-COV-2) on Mental Health of University Students of Pakistan: The Mediating Role of Muslim Religiosity.

Background: Perceived severity of COVID-19 (SARS-COV-2) is known to be associated with mental health of people in general and health professionals in particular in Western societies. However, its association with the mental health of students in Pakistan, which is predominantly a Muslim society, remains unclear so far. Moreover, the role of Muslim religiosity for such an association has not yet been investigated. We aimed to examine the association and report findings on the impact of perceived severity on mental health with a sample of students from all five provinces of Pakistan. Methods: We did a cross-sectional online survey from 1,525 Pakistani students in March 2020 using standardized measurement tools. We then determined the prevalence of perceived severity among students and its impact on their mental health. The strength of associations between these variables was estimated using generalized linear models, with appropriate distribution and link functions. Structural equation modeling through SmartPLS (3.0) software was utilized to analyze the results. Findings: The perceived severity of COVID-19 is significantly associated with mental health of Pakistani students, whereas Muslim religiosity is a strong mediator between perceived severity and mental health of Pakistani students. Conclusions: Though the perceived severity of COVID-19 is associated with mental health, this relationship can be better explained by the role of Muslim religiosity. When tested individually, the perceived severity accounted for only 18% variance in mental health that increased up to 57% by the mediating role of Muslim religiosity. This difference clearly indicates the mediating role of Muslim religiosity in the association between perceived severity and mental health for Pakistani students.

A new neutrosophic sign test: An application to COVID-19 data.

The Sign test is a famous nonparametric test from classical statistics used to assess the one or two sample averages. The test is practical when the sample size is small, or the distributional assumption under a parametric test does not satisfy. One of the limitations of the Sign test is the exact form of the data, and the existing methodology of the test does not cover the interval-valued data. The interval-valued data often comes from the fuzzy logic where the experiment's information is not sure and possesses some kind of vagueness, uncertainty or indeterminacy. This research proposed a modified version of the Sign test by considering the indeterminate state and the exact form of the data-the newly proposed sign test methodology is designed for both one-sample and two-sample hypothesis testing problems. The performance of the proposed modified versions of the Sign test is evaluated through two real-life data examples comprised of covid-19 reproduction rate and covid-positive daily occupancy in ICU in Pakistan. The findings of the study suggested that our proposed methodologies are suitable in nonparametric decision-making problems with an interval-valued data. Therefore, applying the new neutrosophic sign test is explicitly recommended in biomedical sciences, engineering, and other statistical fields under an indeterminate environment.

Measuring COVID-19’s impact on international HE students and intervention satisfaction: implications for marketing theory and practice

Research is urgently required to understand COVID-19’s impact on international students and satisfaction with support interventions. This study investigated these dimensions for international business students studying in Australia to inform international HE policy and marketing. Qualitative research identified the main impacts: financial hardship and income loss, social and lifestyle changes, cessation of travel, and mental health concerns. Six COVID-19 intervention dimensions were identified and a survey then captured ratings of importance, as well as the performance of CDU and the government across these dimensions. Intervention improvement priorities varied according to the analytical approach used. For example, importance-performance analysis revealed financial support as the priority for improvement. In contrast, regression analysis revealed social distancing as the key driver of intervention satisfaction. Closing the loop research then revealed ways to improve COVID-19 interventions and provided input for future marketing for attracting and maintaining international students. Implications for measuring student satisfaction are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Marketing for Higher Education 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 abstract 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 abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A National Survey to Assess the COVID-19 Vaccine-Related Conspiracy Beliefs, Acceptability, Preference, and Willingness to Pay among the General Population of Pakistan.

The current study aims to assess the beliefs of the general public in Pakistan towards conspiracy theories, acceptance, willingness to pay, and preference for the COVID-19 vaccine. A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online self-administered questionnaire during January 2021. The Chi-square test or Fisher exact test was utilized for statistical data analysis. A total of 2158 respondents completed the questionnaire, among them 1192 (55.2%) were male with 23.87 (SD: ±6.23) years as mean age. The conspiracy beliefs circulating regarding the COVID-19 vaccine were believed by 9.3% to 28.4% of the study participants. Among them, 1040 (48.2%) agreed to vaccinate on its availability while 934 (43.3%) reported the Chinese vaccine as their preference. The conspiracy beliefs of the participants were significantly associated with acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine. The existence of conspiracy beliefs and low vaccine acceptance among the general population is a serious threat to successful COVID-19 vaccination.

Monitoring Mortality Caused by COVID-19 Using Gamma-Distributed Variables Based on Generalized Multiple Dependent State Sampling.

More recently in statistical quality control studies, researchers are paying more attention to quality characteristics having nonnormal distributions. In the present article, a generalized multiple dependent state (GMDS) sampling control chart is proposed based on the transformation of gamma quality characteristics into a normal distribution. The parameters for the proposed control charts are obtained using in-control average run length (ARL) at specified shape parametric values for different specified average run lengths. The out-of-control ARL of the proposed gamma control chart using GMDS sampling is explored using simulation for various shift size changes in scale parameters to study the performance of the control chart. The proposed gamma control chart performs better than the existing multiple dependent state sampling (MDS) based on gamma distribution and traditional Shewhart control charts in terms of average run lengths. A case study with real-life data from ICU intake to death caused by COVID-19 has been incorporated for the realistic handling of the proposed control chart design.

Influence of augmented reality app on intention towards e-learning amidst COVID-19 pandemic

Augmented reality apps are a novel technology in e-learning that enhances students’ learning faster in virtual classrooms. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional teaching mechanisms pushed back due to the quick spread of Coronavirus disease. This study investigates university students’ intention towards e-learning through augmented reality app during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan. This study presented a conceptual model based on the theory of planned behaviour that examines university students’ beliefs and their intention to opt for augmented reality app subject to e-learning of coursework. Structural equation modelling was applied to analyse data from 133 university students in Pakistan. The study findings indicated that the theory of planned behaviour explained university students’ acceptance of e-learning through augmented reality apps, where attitude and behavioural control significantly influenced their intention to adopt augmented reality apps for e-learning;hence, subjective norm showed insignificant results. The results acknowledge the modern way of teaching via augmented reality apps by university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Interactive Learning Environments is the property of Routledge 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 abstract 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 abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)