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Purpose: The paper investigated the short-term impact of the lockdown announcement due to COVID-19 on various industries in India using firms' stock returns and credit ratings. Design/Methodology: The paper used event study methodology to analyze abnormal returns on stocks and credit rating changes of firms following the lockdown to understand the impact on the debt servicing of firms. Findings: The paper found a heterogeneous impact of lockdown on various industries. Pharmaceuticals, chemicals, FMCGs, and telecom sectors saw positive abnormal returns, while textiles, financial services, construction, services, cement, and automobile sectors were the worst affected. The paper also found that smaller companies were more susceptible to the effects of such lockdowns. Indian subsidiaries of foreign MNCs and Central Government-owned firms fared better than privately-owned domestic firms. The debt servicing ability of firms was unimpacted due to the debt relief package announced to mitigate the impact of the lockdown. Practical Implications: The paper's findings have implications for investors and managers who can make informed decisions in advance to reduce the risk to their investment if such a black swan event is expected. The paper's findings could help policymakers identify sectors that require immediate support due to the disruption from such an event. Originality: The paper is unique in investigating the impact of the lockdown due to COVID-19 on companies across different industries, with different ownership groups and sizes. We have not come across such a detailed study investigating the impact of COVID-19 on various industries in India. © 2023, Associated Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd.. All rights reserved.
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In 2019, we have seen the biggest epidemic of the century, which claimed many lives worldwide. The epidemic has in fact changed our life in many ways. It changed the way we interact with people. Wearing a mask is now the new normal. Though now the vaccine for the disease is available, still wearing a mask can save us from Covid19, its variants, and other contagious diseases.Especially at places where the large gathering is expected wearing a mask can be made mandatory and our proposed framework can do its monitoring through CCTV cameras.So in this research, we build a deep learning-based framework to detect whether some person is wearing a mask or not through the live video stream. We used a total of three state-of-The-Art transfer learning methods to train our system and used OpenCV to detect faces in the live video stream. We found that efficientnetB1 achieved the highest accuracy of 97.75%. © 2022 IEEE.
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The spread of Coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown has significantly disrupted every facet of human life including education. The education system has never thought of such an unprecedented situation and thus, it had caused a colossal disparity within it. More than 1.2 billion children were out of the classroom, in India almost 32 crore learners stopped going to educational institutions. In India the online learning has many concerns like awareness, its effectiveness, stable internet connectivity, electricity supply, required devices etc. In this study we are trying to address such queries, constraints and to analyse impacts of COVID-19 on the students by understanding their opinion, inclinations and their mental health via an online survey of 399 engineering students in two institutions of Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. Our results revealed that smartphone is the most popular device since 88.97% used it whereas mobile GPRS is the first choice for the Internet connectivity since 75.18% respondents used it. © 2023, Rajarambapu Institute Of Technology. All rights reserved.
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Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of the stringency of COVID-19 protocols on the volatility of sectoral indices during the period 03:2020–05:2021. Specifically, this study investigates the role of economic disturbances on sectoral volatility by applying a range of conditional volatility techniques. Design/methodology/approach: For this analysis, two approaches were adopted. The first approach considers COVID stringency as a factor in the conditional variance equation of sectoral indices. In contrast, the second approach considers the stringency indicator as a possible determinant of their estimated conditional volatility. Findings: Results show that the stringency of the protocols throughout the pandemic phase led to an instantaneous spike followed by a gradual decrease in estimated volatility of all the sectoral indices except pharma and health care. Specific sectors such as bank, FMCG, consumer durables, financial services, IT, media and private banks respond to protocols expeditiously compared to other sectors. Originality/value: The key contribution of this study to the existing literature is the innovative approach. The inclusion of the COVID stringency index as a regressor in the variance equation of the conditional volatility techniques was a distinctive approach for assessing the volatility dynamics with the stringency of COVID protocols. Furthermore, this study also adopts an alternative approach that estimates the conditional volatility of the indices and then tests the effect of the stringencies on estimated volatility in a regression framework. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
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PurposeThis study aims to examine the impact of the stringency of COVID-19 protocols on the volatility of sectoral indices during the period 03:2020-05:2021. Specifically, this study investigates the role of economic disturbances on sectoral volatility by applying a range of conditional volatility techniques. Design/methodology/approachFor this analysis, two approaches were adopted. The first approach considers COVID stringency as a factor in the conditional variance equation of sectoral indices. In contrast, the second approach considers the stringency indicator as a possible determinant of their estimated conditional volatility. FindingsResults show that the stringency of the protocols throughout the pandemic phase led to an instantaneous spike followed by a gradual decrease in estimated volatility of all the sectoral indices except pharma and health care. Specific sectors such as bank, FMCG, consumer durables, financial services, IT, media and private banks respond to protocols expeditiously compared to other sectors. Originality/valueThe key contribution of this study to the existing literature is the innovative approach. The inclusion of the COVID stringency index as a regressor in the variance equation of the conditional volatility techniques was a distinctive approach for assessing the volatility dynamics with the stringency of COVID protocols. Furthermore, this study also adopts an alternative approach that estimates the conditional volatility of the indices and then tests the effect of the stringencies on estimated volatility in a regression framework.
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Over one billion students from 150 countries are impacted due to the COVID-19 driven lockdown and educational institution closure as per the report shared by UNESCO. Innumerous efforts have been put up by the Governments of every country to control the impact of the COVID-19 but unfortunately, there is no vaccine available till now so social distancing is the only way to have an upper hand on it. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the educational systems worldwide and led to the widespread closures of Educational Institutions across the globe. Numerous educational reformers have long-held out the expectation that information and computer technologies (ICTs) will play a crucial and integral role in bringing the long-needed revolution to teaching and learning pedagogies. The situation which took place due to COVID-19, the Online Education Systems and Platforms (OESP) are playing an important role to continue with the teaching processes in the educational institutions during the worldwide closure. Statistical analysis of the covid situation on the teaching-learning process has been depicted in this paper. The present paper focuses on the change of action in the education system and the exponential growth that happened in the Online Education Segment in the 21st century. © 2022 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.
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Background: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is an acute complication of uncontrolled diabetes mellitus that is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Objective(s): To identify independent mortality indicators in patients of DKA so as to stratify them according to risk for emergent intensive care. Material(s) and Method(s): The study sample consisted of 110 patients diagnosed of DKA admitted to SMS hospital. All the patients were treated according to standard protocol. Detailed history, type of diabetes, presence of coexisting diseases, level of consciousness, vitals, capillary blood glucose, units of regular insulin administered to decrease blood glucose to less than 250 mg/dl, liters of normal saline administered and urine output were monitored. WBC count, blood urea, serum creatinine, serum electrolytes, arterial blood pH and bicarbonate, liver function tests, HbA1c, ECG and chest X ray were done. The above parameters and relevant investigations were monitored till the patient was cured and discharged or lost to death. The data was analyzed. Result(s): Ketonuria more than 3+, glucosuria more than 4+, presence of circulatory shock, fever and/or depressed mental status in the first 24 hours, requirement of more than 6 liters of fluids in first 24 hours;pH <7.1 and HCO3 < 11meq/l at presentation, time taken to become ketone free more than 96 hours or less than 48 hours had significant association with higher rates of mortality, while patients who were normotensive or hypertensive at presentation and those who took 48-95 hours to become ketone free had significantly lower rates of mortality. Age, sex, whether diagnosed newly or established case of diabetes, type of diabetes, presence of comorbidity, number of units of insulin required to bring the blood sugar levels to less than 250mg/dl in the first 24 hours, level of blood sugar at the time of presentation did not have a significant association with mortality. Conclusion(s): Mortality was higher among those who had ketonuria >3+, glucosuria >4+, lower respiratory tract infections, presence of circulatory shock, depressed mental status, fever in the first 24 hours, pH <7.1, HCO3-<11 meq/l at presentation, duration taken to become ketone free either too early (24-48 hours) or too late (>96 hours), requirement of >6L fluid on admission. Hence the high mortality rate in this study (38.18%) was due to multi-factorial reasons. It could have been confounded by the fact that the study was conducted during the ongoing covid pandemic. Risk stratification of patients with DKA is possible from simple clinical and laboratory variables available during the first day of hospitalization and prompt recognition of the above risk factors either at admission or during the course of management in the ward has to be followed by emergent ICU care to reduce the mortality. Copyright © 2022, Dr Yashwant Research Labs Pvt Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for hospital medical staffs worldwide due to high volumes of patients acutely ill with novel syndromes and prevailing uncertainty regarding optimum supportive and therapeutic interventions. Additionally, the response to this crisis was driven by a plethora of nontraditional information sources, such as email chains, websites, non-peer-reviewed preprints, and press releases. Care patterns became idiosyncratic and often incorporated unproven interventions driven by these nontraditional information sources. This report evaluates the efforts of a health system to create and empower a multidisciplinary committee to develop, implement, and monitor evidence-based, standardized protocols for patients with COVID-19. Method(s): This report describes the composition of the committee, its scope, and its important interactions with the health system pharmacy and therapeutics committee, research teams, and other work groups planning other aspects of COVID-19 management. It illustrates how the committee was used to demonstrate for trainees the process and value of critically examining evidence, even in a chaotic environment. Result(s): Data show successful interventions in reducing excessive ordering of certain laboratory tests, reduction of nonrecommended therapies, and rapid uptake of evidence-based or guidelines-supported interventions. Conclusion(s): A multidisciplinary committee dedicated solely to planning, implementing, and monitoring standard approaches that eventually became evidence-based decision-making led to an improved focus on treatment options and outcomes for COVID-19 patients. Data presented illustrate the attainable success of a committee that is both adaptable and suitable for similar emergencies in the future. Copyright © 2022 Turner White Communications Inc.. All rights reserved.
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Over the centuries, global pandemics of infectious diseases, such as cholera, small pox, influenza and lately covid has severely impacted the world health and economy. Even after the promising development in science and technology, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases are still a major healthcare problem. Pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa are mainly responsible for infectious diseases and these express different surface markers viz., lipoproteins, receptors, lipids, glycoproteins, glycopeptides, carbohydrates, etc. Identification of these biomarkers play a crucial role in pathogen detection/identification, its control, and inhibition. Despite advancements in pathogen identification, the standard conventional diagnostic methods still have limitations related to their specificity and sensitivity. So, in this context, researchers have utilized the versatile nanostructure modalities for effective sensing, diagnosis and prognosis of various infectious diseases. This chapter unleashes various nanodiagnostic techniques developed to detect, capture and image infectious pathogens through biomarker recognition which can be used worldwide. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Coronavirus is a pandemic nowadays around the globe. This epidemic started from China and spread to the other countries of the world rapidly. The effect of this deadly disease is causing a huge number of deaths per day around the globe. Initially, it started spreading in the countries where the temperature is relatively low like Europe and North America. India also started witnessing cases in the month of February, which is by and large not that hot a month in the country. This created a belief in India that when the summers are set in the country, the virus would not have any or very little effect, but gradually this belief faded away and the coronavirus surrounded India and affected the regions which are comparatively hotter than other areas. In this paper, we have taken this temperature effect as one criterion for coronavirus and shown the relationship between coronavirus and temperature. Our result of r2 (r-squared), which is a measure of independence, has a value of +0.75 indicating that the factor of temperature has no significance in the rise in the number of Covid cases in India. © 2022 Scrivener Publishing LLC.
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Stem Cells and COVID-19 presents up-to-date knowledge on the effect of hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection in its diagnosis, treatment and prevention. In addition, the book critically discusses challenges, highlighting outstanding questions and future perspectives. Written by global experts in the field for both pre-clinical and clinical practitioners, this comprehensive book delves into how stem cells have a strong potential in developing better diagnostic, treatment and preventive strategies in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Both hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells are critical to better understand the response of immune system to coronavirus infection in both healthy and co-morbid conditions in the development of effective vaccines and immunotherapies. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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In October 2020, South Africa and India proposed a plan to protect developing nations' interests and ensure a seamless supply of COVID-19 vaccinations. While rich countries have made rapid progress with their immunization programmes, many poor and underdeveloped countries have been left behind to fend for themselves due to patent protection. With the frightening rate at which COVID-19 cases have been emerging, the global population requires immediate and equitable access to life-saving vaccines. In this paper a methodological systematic review of IPR waiver related journal papers and newsletters published from 2019-2021 was performed. Search was conducted through significant scientific databases for relevant publications for this systematic review. This paper discusses to waive IPR in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has received both criticism and praise. Some opponents oppose the IPR waiver because it eliminates rewards for pharmaceutical corporations' R & D efforts. Vaccine development necessitates specialized requirements which cost a lot of money. Along with this, pharmaceutical corporations will be hesitant to take the lead in the future if a situation similar to COVID-19 arises. However, those in favour believe that an IPR waiver can reduce the barriers to countries producing their own vaccines, particularly for the lowest-income nations. Whether the reasoning is correct or incorrect, the timely & equitable distribution of COVID-19 immunizations is critical to the abolition of this pandemic. © 2022, National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources. All rights reserved.
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Present world! If we utter these words in the present scenario, they will reflect with their truest meaning even in the mind of a lay man of a country. Yes, this is the impact of the Corona Virus Pandemic 2019 which has made the whole world stand in the same line today. We are feeling globally, watching globally and learning globally. COVID -19 Pandemic causes deadly effects on human populations all over the world. Millions of deaths have occurred and more than billions are suffering from this deadly disease. Present study is based on the effects of Pandemic Covid -19 on environment and Human society. On environment issues we focus on the hydrological study of river Ganga near Bijnor District and on wild life. Social aspect specially focuses on the behavioral changes in human beings during lockdown period. Study indicates that all living beings, except human feel happy during lock down. This chapter includes analysis of water quality of lotic system and ethological changes of the animals. Results indicate that significant changes occur in aquatic life and the noticeable changes were found in the behavior of human beings.
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This paper explores the economic consequences of non-pharmaceutical government intervention to curb disease spread on Indian commodity-level exports. This is the first study to assess the export implications of the pandemic using a panel linear as well as a novel non-linear ARDL framework. Our results show that pandemic-related stringencies have a positive effect on Indian exports in the long-run. This result holds valid for domestic as well export destination countriesModified Letter Turned Comma stringencies. However, our evidence suggests that reducing stringencies has a more dominating effect on Indian exports than tightening of stringencies. Also, stringencies and uncertainty impact exports adversely in the short-run. Furthermore, pandemic-related financial uncertainty is found to have a dampening effect on exporting. Our results also show a significant asymmetric impact of policy responses on exports, especially for agriculture and manufacturing commodities, while mineral products are relatively less impacted.
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Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently declared Covid 19 to be a pandemic that poses a threat to humanity. The existing Conventional and other instructional methods have been canceled and the online learning has been broadly revised to allow learners to educate themselves through online platforms. Aims: This article was written to identify the teaching practices throughout Covid 19 with key terms, virtual mastering during the lockdown, on-line teaching during a pandemic, and application of blended learning during Covid-19 and post Covid implication. Methodology: The mini review was conducted to identify the online teaching practices during Covid-19 and blended mode of teaching in higher education and its implication during post Covid-19. The different database searches identified more than ninety articles, of which 35 full-textual content articles had been assessed and nineteen had been included in this paper. Results: Blended learning is a modern, powerful, and effective tool for increasing universities' competitiveness, meeting the diverse needs and interests of instructional service consumers, imposing the concept of continuing education, and integrating classroom and distance learning to facilitate independent, interactive, and collaborative learning among students. Conclusion: The article finishes with an overview of the most pressing issues, as well as suggestions and brief recommendations for expanding the use of blended learning in the post-Covid-19 era.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the world with such a force that the world's leading economies are finding it challenging to come out of it. Countries with the best medical facilities even cannot handle the increasing number of cases and fatalities. This disease causes significant damage to the lungs and respiratory system of humans, leading to their death. Computed tomography (CT) images of the respiratory system are analyzed in the proposed work to classify the infected people with non-infected people. Deep learning binary classification algorithms have been applied, which have shown an accuracy of 86.9% on 746 CT images of chest having COVID-19-related symptoms. © This article published as an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) will be remembered as a life changing landmark in the medical history. The changes it brought forth in the life of medical students resemble the two sides of a coin. It made them unlearn the conventional methods of education, patient care and research and learn the newer ways of patient interaction through telemedicine, online classes through web-based platforms and completing their thesis and dissertation through different online modes. This commentary is based on such experiences of a postgraduate resident.