COVID-19 and Differential Income Recovery: Survey Evidence from Indian Punjab

The study examines changes in earnings of the workers over 1 year. The results show differential impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on income of the workers. The findings suggest that workers, whose occupations were restricted in the initial phase of lockdown, continue to do worse even after lifting the restrictions. Females, casual workers and the less educated are among the worst affected by the economic shock. They continue to lag behind with no sign of catching up with other groups. The study asks for short- and long-term policy measures to address the issue. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Asian & African Studies (Sage Publications, Ltd.) is the property of Sage Publications, 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.)

Thrombocytopenia in COVID-19: Focused Summary of Current Understanding of Mechanisms and Clinical Implications.

Thrombocytopenia is noted in corona virus disease-2019 (COVID-19) with a prevalence of 5% to 41%, and has been observed to be associated with inferior outcomes. The pathogenesis of thrombocytopenia in COVID-19 is unique and differs from other viral syndromes in terms of clinical presentation and causative mechanisms. Platelets act as both targets and the initial defense against severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 and work in concert with the underlying thrombophilic mechanisms to modulate the final disease phenotype. Understanding these mechanisms may possibly allow targeting of a key component of COVID-19 pathogenesis. We provide a focused review of the current mechanisms implicated in development of thrombocytopenia in COVID-19 and therapeutic implications of the same.

Mitigation of in-hospital risk of coronavirus disease 2019: Experience from a haematology-oncology and stem cell transplant setting.

Background: . Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) was first described in December 2019 and has evolved into an ongoing global pandemic. Cancer patients on chemotherapy are immunocompromised and are at the highest risk of Covid-19-related complications. We describe our experience with the management of haematology-oncology and stem cell transplant (SCT) patients receiving curative chemotherapy in a hospital with a high influx of Covid-19 patients. Methods: . We did a prospective observational study at a 99-bedded cancer centre of a tertiary care teaching hospital from April 2020 to September 2020. Preventive measures taken were categorized as follows: (i) staff: screening, mandatory use of personal protective equipment (PPE), risk stratification of potential exposure and testing and isolation as needed; (ii) patients: mandatory viral polymerase chain reaction testing, segregation of positive and untested patients and testing of family members; and (iii) environment: mandatory regular cleaning, visitor restriction, telemedicine services and reassignment of priority to clinic visits. Treatment of the underlying conditions was continued with added precautions. Results: . A total of 54 patients were included in the analysis, including 48 with haematological malignancies and 6 for stem cell therapy. Preventive measures were universally applied, and chemotherapy with a curative intent was initiated as per protocol. Three patients were detected to have Covid-19 infection before admission and one after the institution of chemotherapy. Nine patients died after the first cycle of chemotherapy, 2 due to severe Covid-19-related illness and 7 due to complications of chemotherapy or disease progression. Conclusions: . In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, treatment for haematological malignancies must continue while balancing the risk of Covid-19 infections. Our report emphasizes the effectiveness of measures such as hand hygiene, social isolation, patient segregation, use of masks and PPE and universal pre-treatment testing for Covid-19 in reducing the risk of infection in a high-risk clinical setting.

Treatment of Acute Leukemia During COVID-19: Focused Review of Evidence.

The Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an unprecedented health care crisis and has led to over 1.5 million deaths worldwide. The risk of severe COVID-19 and mortality is markedly raised in patients with cancer, prompting several collaborative groups to issue guidelines to mitigate the risk of infection by delaying or de-escalating immunosuppressive therapy. However, delayed therapy is often not feasible for patients requiring treatment for acute leukemia or stem cell transplantation. We provide a focused review of the recommendations and evidence for managing this high-risk group of patients while minimizing the risk of COVID-19 infection, and provide a small snapshot of treatment data from our center.

The Role of Supply Chain Management Practices (SCMPs) on Supply Chain Operational Performance (SCOPer) in Automobile Industry in India

In the modern era of competition and varying business conditions in the twenty first century, automobile OEMs are facing issues such as shift of BSI-IV engines to BSI-VI engines, demand crisis, economic slowdown, and global covid-19 pandemic and at the same time, consumer's expectations are increasing. These things have put a lot of pressure on automobile industry to cater the fast and changing needs of the consumers at competitive price. In the automobile industry, normally vehicles are designed & build to keep in mind the global demand as well to avoid creating a brand new setup for global demand and hence its supply chains have become more complex. The recent economic slowdown in India has put pressure on automobile industry OEM's as well as supplier's top leadership to make right decisions about their supply chains for improved performance. During the exploration of the literature, it was also found that using the various supply chain management (SCM) practices improves supply chain operational performance (SCOPer) and hence supply chain's productivity, profitability, reliability, visibility and efficiency etc. Hence, best SCM practices implementation is essential for the organization to grow & sustain with competition. Few gaps were found during the literature review such as lack and effectiveness of existing SCM practices and continuous monitoring. The objective of the research was to check whether supply chain management practices (SCMPs) improve the supply chain's operational performance (SCOPer) or not. To achieve the objective, the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is vital as it is associated directly or indirectly throughout the supply chain pipeline. The research found that the companies which were carefully monitoring and implementing the SCMPs effectively had improved their supply chain operational performances. This research could further be explored in other sectors/industries.

Income and Employment Changes Under COVID-19 Lockdown: A Study of Urban Punjab

This article traces income and employment changes through various phases of the lockdown based on primary data. It analyses the coping strategies of people in response to fall in their income. The article reveals that there was a large drop in income and employment with the announcement of lockdown. While there is some recovery with easing of the lockdown, the income at the time of survey is still substantially lower than its pre-lockdown level. Casual labour households with the largest fall in income and employment are the most affected. Income and employment losses are also higher among Scheduled Caste (SC) and Other Backward Caste (OBC) households. In the absence of any income, the households either had to live off their savings or had to borrow money for their basic needs. With rapidly depleting savings, borrowing approached its limits, and with slow recovery of income, households may need substantial government assistance to save them from deprivation.