The Rohingyas in Bangladesh: the 2020 pandemic and the aftermath

Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas mostly in the southeastern part of the country (Cox's Bazar district). More than 3years have passed and not a single Rohingya has returned home although Myanmar agreed to take them back. This chapter sets out to assess the livelihoods of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh with particular reference to the 2020 pandemic. Findings are based on interviews with some NGO leaders, UN officials, and leaders from the Rohingya refugee groups and some neighboring community leaders. Some Rohingyas have started to move out of the camps and settled in some parts of Bangladesh. Some have also been engaged in crimes like the drug trade. There is a growing tension between the refugees and the local Bangladeshis. Apart from the uncertainty in returning to Myanmar, the lives and livelihoods of the refugees look difficult. The stress was aggravated by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pandemic in the land of the smile: the case of COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand in 2020

For more than a decade, it is has been a key challenge among the policymakers of Thailand to transform its economy from a middle income to an upper-income one. Many factors worked as impediments to this transition. Then came the COVID-19 outbreak both globally including in Thailand. The crisis has exposed the structural problems of the Thai economy and society. The crisis not only affected the export and tourism-based economy, the lives and livelihoods of those dependent on these sectors have also been badly affected. As elsewhere, the crisis's worst victims are the Thai poor and the Thai state struggled to provide them assistance. Some possible measures to better protect the vulnerable in the crises are also discussed. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Positive externality matters in the COVID-19 pandemic: the case of women informal businesses in District Mardan, Pakistan

The sharp outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe economic impact across the globe. It has affected human and business life and specifically led to drastic changes that how businesses and individuals behave. Therefore, this study aims first, to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on informal businesswomen;and second, to know the attitude of these businesswomen toward following the pandemic SOPs (standard operating procedures). Primary data were collected from 400 respondents randomly in district Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Chi-square test analysis was performed to see the differences between rural-urban locations. The results of six products showed that pandemic increased the sales of both urban and rural informal businesses, i.e., cloth, cosmetics, tailoring, and grocery. However, dairy products and beautician businesses were affected adversely. Mix results were obtained about the respondents' attitudes toward pandemic SOPs. We recommend emerging rethinking for policymakers to promote these women businesses as it has played a role in maintaining family livelihood during the pandemic. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Insights into Off-Label therapeutic strategies against mild and severe COVID-19 infection

Currently, prevention and control of the coronavirus disease pneumonia epidemic situation are grim globally. To cope with total sheer carriers and patients of COVID-19 requires intensive medical support and adjunctive therapies to overcome the disease. The epidemic can be controlled with the help of both, disease suppression via community health measures and adjunctive therapies for patients suffering from infection. Till date, we do not have any proper antiCOVID-19 therapy. In order to achieve the overall realization of this pandemic, there is a need to identify treatments depending upon their direct or indirect targets;like inhibition of polyprotein synthesis, transmembrane serine protease, inhibition of viral entry and endocytosis. This could be possible by turning the focus in the direction towards the development of numerous tentative drugs, particularly in the severe to badly ill. Though, majority of these off-label adjunctive medicines are being inspected in a lot of clinical trials at different stages, scientific organizations have endeavored to elucidate the situation where these adjunctive drugs might be practiced as off-label, open- label or compassionate. Our review compiles the adjunctive therapies adopted in COVID-19 infected patients according to clinical severity in conjugation with practicing recommendations from existing guidance rules issued by global professional bodies in healthcare. © 2021 Pakistan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. All rights reserved.

Review-Insights into Off-Label therapeutic strategies against mild and severe COVID-19 infection

Currently, prevention and control of the coronavirus disease pneumonia epidemic situation are grim globally. To cope with total sheer carriers and patients of COVID-19 requires intensive medical support and adjunctive therapies to overcome the disease. The epidemic can be controlled with the help of both, disease suppression via community health measures and adjunctive therapies for patients suffering from infection. Till date, we do not have any proper anti-COVID-19 therapy. In order to achieve the overall realization of this pandemic, there is a need to identify treatments depending upon their direct or indirect targets;like inhibition of polyprotein synthesis, transmembrane serine protease, inhibition of viral entry and endocytosis. This could be possible by turning the focus in the direction towards the development of numerous tentative drugs, particularly in the severe to badly ill. Though, majority of these off-label adjunctive medicines are being inspected in a lot of clinical trials at different stages, scientific organizations have endeavored to elucidate the situation where these adjunctive drugs might be practiced as off-label, open- label or compassionate. Our review compiles the adjunctive therapies adopted in COVID-19 infected patients according to clinical severity in conjugation with practicing recommendations from existing guidance rules issued by global professional bodies in healthcare.

Comparison of Nigella sativa and Trachyspermum ammi via experimental investigation and biotechnological potential

Trachyspermum ammi and Nigella sativa are mostly used as traditional medicinal plants to cure different diseases. It was observed that both extracts showed significant antibacterial activity against gram-negative bacteria and which may be extended to the SARS-CoV-2, leading to the absence of the peptidoglycan layer. T. ammi showed the highest percentage inhibition in the antifungal assay compared to N. sativa against Aspergillus flavus. The antioxidant assay was performed. It was observed that T. ammi has more free radical scavenging activity as indicated by low IC50. The cytotoxic assay was performed by following brine shrimp lethality assay, and it was observed that T. ammi has more cytotoxicity. The results are that both N. sativa and T. ammi are the origins of active pharmaceutical ingredients and have several pharmacological effects. Furthermore, both essential antibacterial agents were identified and can, therefore, be used as an antibiotic. They have now shown important antioxidant and cytotoxic potential, such that their potential in herbal medicine and cancer genetics can now unravel. In the future, the bioactive molecules responsible for biological processes will be separated. Besides, the nano-formulations in nano-biotechnology may also be analyzed with these extracts. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.