Relationship of clinical symptoms, comorbidities and treatment options along with disease outcomes in individuals tested for COVID-19 in Pakistan: a national survey

Background: This web-based survey is done to collect and assess data from people tested for COVID-19 with PCR in Pakistan. Methods: This 3-month study is a cross-sectional online survey, conducted by Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA), Health Research Advisory Board (HealthRAB) and National Institute of Health (NIH). Data collection was done using Google Forms. People who were tested for COVID-19 using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) were included in the study. The sample size of the study was 1,537. SPSS version 22 was used for data analysis. Results: Majority of the respondents belonged to the age group 20 - 39 years. The most common symptoms found were fever 633 (41%), cough 534 (34%), generalized body aches 432 (28%) and sore throat 392 (25%). The mean COVID-19 mental health score was 3.59 (SD: 5.808, range: 0-18). Treatment with antibiotics and painkillers had a strong correlation (p-value < 0.05) with the disease outcomes. The disease outcomes had moderate correlation (p-value < 0.05) with anti-allergy, steroids, plasma and oxygen therapy, and weak correlation (p-value < 0.05) with Antiviral and Antimalarial therapy. Out of the total respondents, 561 (36.1%) were cured from COVID-19, 14 (0.9%) were expired during/after hospitalization, 15 (1%) were still infected and 962 (62%) were not infected. Conclusion: Pakistani population has a better cure rate than some of its neighboring countries. However, further research in this area is required to draw a definite conclusion.

Introduction

Worldwide, the construction sector is one of the principal consumers of natural resources and presents a significant carbon footprint related to the production and transportation of construction materials, e.g., cement, and aggregates. Due to COVID-19, the construction industry has been negatively impacted considering the lockdown and restrictions by various governments, most of the projects were halted since most of the construction could not get the raw materials in time. Naturally, the aggregate market is affected on a short-term basis, but the market is recovering especially in Asia–Pacific after the relaxation of lockdown in many countries and the global outlook to 2030 indicates that the aggregates production will be driven by three key factors, namely, increase in global population (reaching 8.5billion by 2030), continued economic development and increase in global urbanisation (reaching 60% by 2030). Accordingly, it is estimated that global aggregates production will increase to some 60billion tonnes by 2030. According to O'Brien (2019), the strongest growth will be in Asia, particularly in India, with lower but positive growth in Africa and Latin America. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Post-COVID-19 Organizational Resilience in the Manufacturing and Service Industries

COVID-19 has shaken the business industry and forced a revisit of the resilience literature. Though organizations' management have adopted measures prescribed by the literature, these measures have been unable to provide a fit-for-all solution. This has motivated this study to re-examine the organizational resilience factors driving operational performance in the post-pandemic era, specifically in consideration of the role of firm industry orientation and firm size. Thus, the preset study aims it to identify to what extent the organizational resilience (ability, adaptability, agility and flexibility) effects the operational performance;and, to determine how the firm size influence the relationship between organizational resilience and the operational performance of the manufacturing and service sectors. Data was collected from 85 organizations in the Malaysian manufacturing and services industries and analyzed using PLS-SEM. The results show that the agility and flexibility dimensions of resilience have a significant positive effect on operational performance, while the ability and adaptability dimensions have no such effect. Additionally, firm size was found to be insignificant in the relationship between organizational resilience and operational performance. The findings reveal that resilience is vital for the sustainability of an organization in this turbulent and complex business climate. Therefore, managers should thus consider incorporating appropriate resilience strategies in both opportunities and operations to embrace different strategies to leverage organizational resilience post COVID. Ultimately, the government should utilize these findings for policymaking when leading post-COVID-19 projects and initiatives. © 2022 Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. All rights reserved.

Exploring the Impact of Online Classes on Students' Performance during Covid-19: Voices from Pakistan

Technology has emerged as an accelerative tool for online teaching and learning during covid-19 pandemic. This growing rate of covid-19 cases resulted in a swift change in countries to adopt escalated preventive measures for working and studying through online platforms. In this study, the authors aim to investigate the impact of online classes on students' learning performance and to explore what problems prevent effective education in Pakistan. An exploratory research design was employed and data was collected through questionnaire-administered online, the purposive sampling has been used among 60 participants studying in the third year of bachelor studies. The participants were selected seemingly due to their broader knowledge in the discipline as compare to beginners i.e. first year students, who may lack possible computer skills. Moreover, literature review presented in this research studies is relevant to online learning during covid-19. The theoretical framework for this research was based on facilitative learning proposed from Carl Roger's person-centered approach. The findings revealed that sudden shift to new format affected students' performance negatively. This study outcome benefits the online learners and higher education institutes to be prepared and to become more aware of the prospective challenges.

Validation of an epilepsy management smartphone application in Pakistan

Background: There is no single way to improve epilepsy care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). An epilepsy management aid application (app) has been described, which enables a non-physician health worker (NPHW) to communicate with an epilepsy specialist using a smartphone. In this study, we aimed to assess the validity and quality of this care system in building connections between NPHWs and specialists in Pakistan and the UK. Methods: A NPHW in Pakistan used the app on a series of referrals and sent the app-generated summary by email to a neurologist in the UK, who replied and suggested possible management. Patients were later seen in a face-to-face (FF) manner by the UK neurologist and a local neurologist, and diagnostic accuracy and quality parameters were assessed. Results: Over 10 months, 59 patients were recruited and 33 of them were available for FF assessment. The misdiagnosis rate of the app was 6% (2 cases). Treatment advice provided by the app was judged appropriate in 32 patients (97%). In addition, 46% of the referrals were completed within 2 h and 85% within 24 h. Conclusions: Consistent with an earlier study, this system is a safe method to provide care for patients who cannot access neurological services in person. In addition, it has advantage of timeliness compared to FF assessment and requires less specialist time, both of which are especially important during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. This system can be generalised easily, depending on the willingness of referrers and specialists to use it. © 2022, The Author(s).

Sex differences in mortality from covid-19 pandemic: Are men vulnerable and women protected. Why?

The epidemiological studies shows that compared to women, men infected with the novel COVID-19 have more severe and threatening disease and have a higher mortality globally. The population which is under real panic comprises older men. The reason could be linked to sex chromosome genes and sex hormones with differential regulation of immune responses between the sexes. Objectives of Study: We need to recognize the phenotypical differences in severe case manifestations of COVID-19 in men and women as a fundamental step to understand the effects of this health emergency. Study Design/Methodological/Approach: The study was designed upon factors that are the major cause of gender inequality of infection. The statistical data was collected from the official record of COVID-19 Emergency Centre established in OJHA Centre Dow University Karachi. Results: It was found that, the mortality rate is very high in men. Less deaths of patients younger than 40 years even in past coronavirus leading to severe acute respiratory SARS-CoV, were found to infect more men than women. This may be due to not required enhanced response to infections on reproductive function in young men population, enhanced immune reactivity along with changes in immune cells during aging and pleiotropic nature of many genes. Conclusion: Evidence from this study tells us that sex is an important driver of risk of mortality and response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Age distribution is related with increased mortality rate among men, especially the older age men. Further research is warranted to investigate hormonal, inflammatory, immunologic, and phenotypical differences in severe COVID-19 disease presentations.

To Work from Home (WFH) or Not to Work from Home? Lessons Learned by Software Engineers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This research investigates software engineering during the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on the lessons learned and predictions for future software engineering work. Four themes are explored: Remote work, Team management, Work/Life balance, and Technology/Software Engineering Methods. Our research has demonstrated that software companies will derive tangible benefits from supporting their employees during this uncertain time through ergonomic home offices, listening to their concerns, as well as encouraging breaks and hard stops to boost long term well-being and productivity. It shows that communication and collaboration tools, critical to project success, have been utilised. The hiring of new talent has been reimagined, with managers playing a vital role in the process. The insights gained are significant as they will assuage some pre-existing concerns regarding remote work, creating a new understanding of its role in the future. Looking to a post-COVID-19 future, we envision the rise of hybrid software development working arrangements, with a focus on the Working-From-Home to Not-Working-From-Home ratio - WFH: NWFH - perhaps colloquialised as Home: Not Home (HNH). For many this ratio will be neither 100:0 or 0:100, the former would lead to team breakdowns, developer isolation, difficulties onboarding and too many communication gaps, the latter would lead to disaffected employees. We identify plausible future software engineering working arrangements, noting that there are challenging times ahead for employers and employees as they navigate this HNH future, but there are benefits for both parties in getting the balance right. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Covid-19: A situation analysis of nigeria’s economy

The study examined the relationship between COVID-19: a Situation Analysis of Nigeria’s Economy. To carry out this study, one specified research objective was set in which the null hypothesis was formulated and used for the study. The research design for this study is an Export Facto design. Data for the study were extracted from government official documents and they were subjected to The Philip Peron (PP) test analysis using Bartlett-kernel procedure to determine the bandwidth for the test. The study concluded that in the long-run, impact of COVID-19 on Nigeria's economy is positive as expected, indicating that a unit decrease in oil price as a result of the COVID-19 increases Nigeria’s economy stress by 0.005 units. The result is also statistically significant. And also, recommended that the government should intensify efforts to curb the spread and effect of the virus to promote a healthy environment where economic activities can continue. A moratorium should be given to some SMEs, industries, businesses to help their business sprout again. Because of them has used the business working capital/operational cost for family feeding during the lock-down. The government can give interest-free loans to help some stressed business swing into operation. © 2020, Hampstead Psychological Associates. All rights reserved.