Differences in Muslim philanthropic behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic based on demographic factors

The COVID-19 pandemic that hit the country has caused a huge impact, especially on the economic sector. The approach taken by the government in dealing with the pandemic crisis by implementing a movement control order (MCO) have, to some extent, affected the source of income of the community. In order to survive, these underprivileged people are in need of financial assistance from the government, agencies and the kind-hearted people. Islam places great emphasis on welfare, especially in helping the needy with their daily needs. Therefore, this study aims to examine the level of philanthropic behavior of Muslims during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as to analyze the differences in Muslim philanthropies' behavior during the occurrence of this pandemic based on demographic factors, namely gender, age, education level, marital status, area of residence, household income and employment sector. To achieve this goal, a total of 424 respondents had answered a set of questionnaires distributed during the movement control order (MCO) period as a time limit via a simple sampling method. The results of the study found that five out of the seven demographic factors tested, namely age, level of education, area of residence, household income and employment sector showed significant differences in philanthropic behavior among the respondents. These findings also prove that demographic factors do also influence the decision-making process to donate among Muslims in Melaka. Therefore, all parties need to take a role in explaining and providing awareness on the importance of this philanthropic activity so that the burden borne by the community affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can be eased. © 2023 Author(s).

A roadmap for triggering the convergence of global ESG disclosure standards: lessons from the IFRS foundation and stakeholder engagement

PurposeMotivated by the growing and urgent demands for a unified set of internationally accepted, and high-quality environmental, social and governance (hereafter ESG) disclosure standards, this exploratory study aims to propose a roadmap for setting out the proper technical groundwork for global ESG disclosure standards. Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory study is conducted to gain initial understanding and insights into establishing a worldwide set of standards for reporting on sustainability, as this topic has not been extensively studied. This study examines the viewpoints of various stakeholders, including sustainability practitioners, academics and organizations focused on ESG issues, to generate knowledge that is more solid than knowledge produced when one group of stakeholders work alone. FindingsThe results revealed that there is an ongoing and incompatible debate regarding several conceptual and practical challenges for setting a unified set of ESG disclosure standards. Practical implicationsThe study results provide multidimensional insights for regulatory parties and standard-setters to develop a high-quality package of global ESG reporting standards. This, in turn, enables different groups of stakeholders to understand the firm's impact on the environment, society and economy. Originality/valueResearch into this timely and relevant global issue is considered an appealing area of study and deserves significant attention. Thereby, working on this topic merits remarkable attention. Furthermore, this exploratory article provides valuable and informative suggestions for creating a unified and high-quality set of internationally accepted sustainability reporting standards.

Relationship between philanthropic behaviour and the level of Muslim generosity during the COVID-19 pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the layoff of 24 million people around the East Asia and Asia Pacific. This amount does not include those who are not working or are unpaid during the movement control order (MCO) period in Malaysia. Thus, many are economically affected to survive throughout this health crisis. In this regard, philanthropy plays a crucial role in the Muslims' economy as one of the instruments to aid those who have been affected. The objective of this study is to identify the relationship between internal factors (religious adherence, social sensitivity, appreciation and welfare satisfaction) and external factors (media advertising, government policy, environmental influences and visibility/prestige) that influence philanthropic behaviour and the level of Muslim generosity. This quantitative study utilises a survey method using a set of questionnaires that are structured and distributed to 424 respondents during the movement control order (MCO) period in the state of Melaka. The study findings show that out of the eight internal and external factors, all four internal factors and three external factors of philanthropic behaviour are significant in the level of Muslim generosity. Only one external factor which is the visibility and prestige (VP) is not significant in the level of Muslim generosity. This means during the Covid-19 outbreak, respondents gave donation with no intention of promoting themselves and institutions. Moreover, the practice of philanthropy is not aimed to spread one's influence on the society. © 2023 Author(s).

Blockchain based integrity assurance framework for COVID-19 information management & decision making at National Command Operation Center, Pakistan

The uncontrollable spread of contagious disease COVID-19 is a perennial threat to mankind and has resulted in an unprecedented lockdowns in several countries including Pakistan which in turn has caused an adverse socio-economic impact to all industries. The strategic leadership and concerned state authorities are trying hard to combat and control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. The effective use of Information Management & Decision Support (IMDS) System can play significant role in combating pandemic and its spread, managing relief actions effectively, accessing vulnerable communities to roll out targeted subsidies by ensuring the coordinated effort and subsequent implementation. Reliable information is significantly critical to assist government and public health agencies in determining the best way forward to control this global health emergency. Therefore, this paper aims to strengthen capacity of IMDS System used by government institutions and authorities for decision making and information dissemination. In this research work, we addressed the integrity-based issues that include completeness, correctness, and freshness of data by proposing a block chain-based integrity protection mechanism. The proposed novel framework is a cascaded formulation of Integrity Assurance (IA) Protocol, Cryptographic Merkle Hash Tree, Digital Signature, and Blockchain. Beside cascaded formulation, two (2) schemes for MHT Generation are also presented in the framework. The proposed framework ensures fairness, completeness, and correctness of data that will be very helpful for secure data management, integration, and utilization in analysis for decision-making. The proposed framework achieved an accuracy of more than 98.09% with better quantitative performance in standard evaluation parameters. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Increased social media utilization and content creation by cardiothoracic surgery programs during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the landscape of professional activities, emphasizing virtual meetings and social media (SoMe) presence. Whether cardiothoracic programs increased their SoMe presence is unknown. We examined SoMe use and content creation by cardiothoracic surgery programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We searched the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education to identify all cardiothoracic surgery residency programs (n = 122), including independent (n = 74), integrated (n = 33), and congenital (n = 15) training programs at 78 US cardiothoracic surgery teaching institutions. We then manually searched Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter to identify the associated residency and departmental accounts. The timeline for our search was between 10/2021 and 4/2022. March 2020 was used as the starting point for the COVID-19 pandemic. We also contacted the account managers to identify account content creators. The data are descriptively reported and analyzed. Results: Of 137 SoMe accounts from 78 US cardiothoracic surgery teaching institutions, 72 of 137 (52.6%) were on Twitter, 34 of 137 (24.8%) on Facebook, and 31 of 137 (22.6%) on Instagram. Most accounts were departmental accounts (105/137 = 76.6%) versus 32 of 137 (23.4%) training program accounts. Most training program-specific SoMe accounts across all platforms were created after the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas departmental accounts were pre-existing (P < .001). The most pronounced SoMe growth was on Instagram at the training program level, with 91.7% of Instagram accounts created after the pandemic. Trainees are the content creators for 94.4% of residency accounts and 33.3% of departmental accounts. Facebook's presence was stagnant. Congenital training programs did not have a specific SoMe presence. Conclusions: SoMe presence by cardiothoracic surgery training programs and departments has increased during the pandemic. Twitter is the most common platform, with a recent increased trend on Instagram. Trainees largely create content. SoMe education and training pathways may be needed for involved trainees to maximize their benefits.

Bone mineral density changes in osteoporotic and osteopenic patients after COVID-19 infection

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection is linked to high levels of inflammatory cytokines and prolonged immobilization;furthermore, corticosteroid treatment leads to increased bone loss and resorption. We aimed to study the change in bone mineral density (BMD) after COVID-19 infection in osteoporotic and osteopenic patients. One hundred osteoporotic or osteopenic patients were selected in this single-center retrospective study;the patients were divided into two groups. Group 1 included 56 patients who got COVID-19 infection. Group 2 included 44 patients who did not get COVID-19 infection. BMD was assessed at baseline, after 9 months of COVID infection, and then after 1 year follow-up using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan. Results: There was no significant difference between two groups regarding demographic data (p > 0.05);there was a significant decrease in BMD of the lumbar region and femur at 9 months as compared to baseline in group1 (p < 0.001), while there was a significant increase in the lumbar BMD of osteoporotic patients who did not get COVID infection after 21 months. Concerning activity of COVID infection, there was a significant difference between the three subgroups of COVID patients regarding percentage of change in BMD after 9 months, the severe group having the highest decrease in BMD (p < 0.001). Conclusions: COVID-19 may have deleterious effect on BMD in osteoporotic patients. It is recommended to assess BMD in osteoporotic/osteopenic patients who got COVID infection to detect if there is an increased risk of fracture which may necessitate post-COVID change in the therapeutic intervention plan. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43166-022-00165-7.

HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE SHORTAGE and ITS RELATION to ANXIETY LEVEL and DISEASE ACTIVITY in RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS and SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS PATIENTS during COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Background: Concerns of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) shortage for patients with rheumatic diseases are growing during the era of COVID-19 pandemic as it was assigned in some treatment protocols. Its nonavailability may impact the disease management especially in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Objectives: To evaluate the shortage of HCQ in patients with RA and SLE and its impact on patients anxiety and disease activity. Methods: 219 RA patients (according to 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria) and 200 SLE patients (according to 2012 SLICC criteria) were recruited in the study. Demographic and clinical features of the patients together with the current disease activity parameters (CDAI and SELENA/SLEADI) were prospectively collected. previous disease activity measures were collected from the patients records before hydroxychloroquine shortage. Patient's anxiety was measured using Hamilton anxiety rating scale. Results: A total of 419 patients divided into two groups, Group (1);219 RA patients with mean age 45.6±9.6 years, disease duration 45.5±32.8 months with female predominance (63 %). Group (2): 200 SLE patients with mean age 33.8±7.9 years, disease duration 61.2±39.2 months with female predominance (84%). 168 (76.7%) of the RA patients and 128 (64%) of SLE patients reduced or stopped the dose of HCQ due to unavailability. Despite HCQ shortage, there was no signifcant change in disease activity in RA or SLE patients (P=0.063 and 0.064 respectively). All participants suffered from different levels of anxiety which was positively correlated with HCQ shortage (p= 0.001 and 0.005 for RA and SLE respectively). Conclusion: COVID 19 pandemic caused hydroxychloroquine shortage in the majority of patients with RA and SLE with no signifcant impact on their disease activity. Anxiety was found correlating to HCQ shortage in both diseases more signifcantly in SLE patients.

Impact Of Digital Finance On Facing The Financial Crises Caused By The Corona Pandemic

During the past two decades, digital played a prominent role in bringing about tangible development in several fields, especially banking. As it provided new opportunities for entrepreneurship and promoted creativity and innovation activities, and was adopted as a tool to confront financial crises. A sample of individuals working in commercial banks listed in the Iraq Stock Exchange was selected. The coefficient of determination (R2) and least squares modeling were used to test the hypotheses of the study and using the statistical programs (SPSS), (SMART PLS).A set of conclusions has been reached, including the existence of a significant negative effect of digital finance in financial crises. Based on the conclusions, a set of recommendations were presented, the most important of which is the need to adopt digital finance to overcome challenges and face financial crises.

Hydroxychloroquine non-availability during COVID-19 pandemic and its relation to anxiety level and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis and lupus patients: a cross-sectional study

Background: During COVID-19 disease era, there is an accelerated demand for hydroxychloroquine since it was suggested by some centers as potential therapy for COVID-19 which has led to diminished supplies for patients with rheumatic disease and which carried unexpected risk for disease flare particularly in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. The purpose of the work is to detect the effect of HCQ shortage in patients with RA and SLE on anxiety and disease activity. Results: A total of 320 patients were divided into two groups: group 1-216RA patients with mean age 45.5 +/- 9.59 years, disease duration 43.4 +/- 25.6 months with female predominance (62.5%). Group 2-104 SLE patients with mean33.4 +/- 7.9 age years, disease duration 52.1 +/- 34.6 months with female predominance (85.6%). HCQ shortage occurred in 174 RA patients (80.5%) and 76 lupus patients (73.1%). Despite HCQ shortage, there were no significant change in disease activity of RA (using CDAI) and SLE (using SELENA) p = 0.063 and 0.064 respectively before and after HCQ shortage. Anxiety level was higher in patients who were exposed to HCQ shortage in both groups (SLE p 0.0058 and RA p 0.0044) when we compared them to those without HCQ shortage. Conclusion: In most patients with RA and SLE, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a HCQ scarcity, with no effect on disease activity. Anxiety was found to be associated with HCQ shortage in both diseases.

Anti-phospholipid antibodies in the setting of thromboembolic events associated with severe COVID-19 pneumonia

Background Thrombotic consequences have been reported in COVID-19-infected patients, especially those who are critically ill. Multiple studies have tested antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) among COVID-19 patients, but to date, the actual frequency of aPLs is still uncharted. In this cohort study, we analyzed the outcomes of 173 consecutive patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection. Anti-phospholipid antibodies, which include anti-cardiolipin antibodies [aCL (IgM), aCL (IgG)], and B2-glycoprotein I antibodies [a beta 2GPI (IgM), a beta 2GPI (IgG)] were detected by using immunoassays. In contrast, lupus anti-coagulant (LAC) antibodies are identified through a coagulation-based assay. Results The study demonstrated a high incidence of thrombotic consequences in severe COVID pneumonia cases and supported an increased risk of developing aPLs following COVID-19 infection. Pulmonary embolism had the most common prevalence of all thrombotic events. Among the various aPLs tested in thrombotic patients, lupus anti-coagulant (LAC) had the highest positivity (46.2%). Most patients with arterial thromboembolism (stroke, myocardial infarction, limb ischemia, bowel ischemia, and renal artery thrombosis) had triple positivity of anti-phospholipid antibodies. Testing aPLs antibodies after 12 weeks of recovery for survived patients only 2 out of 23 patients had aPLs positivity compared to 35 out of 65 tested during hospital admission. Furthermore, we found no significant changes in aPLs positivity between survived and non-survived patients with thrombotic event. Conclusions aPLs increased transiently as an inflammatory-mediated condition. Individuals with aPLs triple positivity (positive LAC, aCL, and aB2GPI) had a considerable risk of arterial thromboembolism (ATE).

Pulmonary Parenchymal Changes in COVID-19 Survivors.

BACKGROUND: As the COVID-19 pandemic moves into the survivorship phase, questions regarding long-term lung damage remain unanswered. Previous histopathologic studies are limited to autopsy reports. We studied lung specimens from COVID-19 survivors who underwent elective lung resections to determine whether postacute histopathologic changes are present. METHODS: This multicenter observational study included 11 adult COVID-19 survivors who had recovered but subsequently underwent unrelated elective lung resection for indeterminate lung nodules or lung cancer. We compared these against an age- and procedure-matched control group who never contracted COVID-19 (n = 5) and an end-stage COVID-19 group (n = 3). A blinded pulmonary pathologist examined the lung parenchyma focusing on 4 compartments: airways, alveoli, interstitium, and vasculature. RESULTS: Elective lung resection was performed in 11 COVID-19 survivors with asymptomatic (n = 4), moderate (n = 4), and severe (n = 3) COVID-19 infections at a median 68.5 days (range 24-142 days) after the COVID-19 diagnosis. The most common operation was lobectomy (75%). Histopathologic examination identified no differences between the lung parenchyma of COVID-19 survivors and controls across all compartments examined. Conversely, patients in the end-stage COVID-19 group showed fibrotic diffuse alveolar damage with intra-alveolar macrophages, organizing pneumonia, and focal interstitial emphysema. CONCLUSIONS: In this study to examine the lung parenchyma of COVID-19 survivors, we did not find distinct postacute histopathologic changes to suggest permanent pulmonary damage. These results are reassuring for COVID-19 survivors who recover and become asymptomatic.