ABSTRACT
As cities worldwide are striving to cope with the ongoing crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, switching to digital platforms has sparked interest in many stakeholders in response to pandemic recovery. The uncertainty of such future shocks questions our way of addressing urban issues at a micro and Macro-Level. The virus makes physical proximity vulnerable to risks. Hence, urgency is required to shift operations to an online mode to ensure COVID-19 safety norms, maintain continuity in operation and productivity at a distance. It may indicate that worldwide, e-commerce giants have grown during the pandemic for their ability to operate through contactless platforms. On the other hand, local stores and markets suffered due to such giants' growth and Covid restrictions. This research explores challenges in the local retail sector caused by the pandemic and proposes a Design-Based solution. Considering Industry 4.0, mobile apps hold the potential to ease workflow and are easily accessible to all. Our final proposition would be to design a mobile app prototype (which would also be co-designed with the users). Methodologically, we have followed a Bottom-Up model approach and performed exhaustive user research and a heuristic evaluation with a probable user group. Only through understanding and accommodating the ‘larger' community can we all cope with the after-effects of this crisis. This research presents an opportunity for consumers to show solidarity with the small Indian retailers and shop the old, local and sustainable way again. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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In the long and medium term, the evolution of pandemics and the resulting harm to the global economy have been alarming. Pandemics have a variety of detrimental effects on the economy. They impact families, companies, and the government by reducing labor supply, worker productivity, and population income, increasing company expenditures and public healthcare infrastructure costs. This research aims to examine and organize the present body of knowledge in the field of pandemics and their economic effect. With the help of a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis, the study presents the status and development in this area of research. All business sectors, including supply chain, logistics, travel & tourism, entertainment, recreation and fitness, hospitality, have been negatively impacted worldwide. The paper contributes to the existing state of literature by examining the impact of significant pandemics on various business activities around the globe. However, there is a surge in telecommunication, including data providers and e-commerce businesses.
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The education sector has suffered a catastrophic setback due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, with classrooms being closed indefinitely. The current study aims to solve the existing dilemma by examining COVID transmission inside a classroom and providing long-term sustainable solutions. In this work, a standard 5 × 3 × 5 m3 classroom is considered where 24 students are seated, accompanied by a teacher. A computational fluid dynamics simulation based on OpenFOAM is performed using a Eulerian-Lagrangian framework. Based on the stochastic dose-response framework, we have evaluated the infection risk in the classroom for two distinct cases: (i) certain students are infected and (ii) the teacher is infected. If the teacher is infected, the probability of infection could reach 100% for certain students. When certain students are infected, the maximum infection risk for a susceptible person reaches 30%. The commonly used cloth mask proves to be ineffective in providing protection against infection transmission, reducing the maximum infection probability by approximately 26% only. Another commonly used solution in the form of shields installed on desks has also failed to provide adequate protection against infection, reducing the infection risk only by 50%. Furthermore, the shields serve as a source of fomite mode of infection. Screens suspended from the ceiling, which entrap droplets, have been proposed as a novel solution that reduces the infection risk by 90% and 95% compared to the no screen scenario besides being completely devoid of fomite infection mode. The manifestation of infection risk in the domain was investigated, and it was found out that in the case of screens the maximum infection risk reached the value of only 0.2 (20% infection probability) in 1325 s. © 2023 Author(s).
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Background: At the onset of Covid-19 pandemic, it was an unknown entity in terms of risk status of the pregnant women for fetomaternal outcome. Both fetus and pregnant women were considered as groups under special concern due to their unique physiological characteristics. Method(s): A retrospective study was conducted in department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology along with Paediatrics department in Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College and Hospital, Solan on pregnant females admitted to the Covid-19 Ward/ ICU over a period from August 2020 till 31st March 2022. Participants were included into 3 waves of pandemic based upon time of presentation and these 3 groups were further studied for the various fetomaternal parameters such as maternal age, symptom status, need for respiratory support, maternal mortality, abortions, still births, gestational age and weight of newborn and other morbidity and mortality in newborns. Result(s): A total of 171 pregnant were included in the study, of whom 47, 64 and 60 were seen in 1st, 2nd and 3rd waves respectively. Majority of subjects were asymptomatic in 1st, 2nd & 3rd wave, (p=0.30). Age wise distribution of the patients showed majority subjects in the age group of 20-30 years (p= 0.94). LSCS rates in 3 waves were not different significantly (p = 0.67). Maternal mortality rates and need for respiratory support were in similar proportions in all 3 waves (p=0.71) and (p=0.73) respectively. No significant difference was seen in maternal morbidity and neonatal outcome. Conclusion(s): The study showed no significant difference between the waves of Covid-19 pandemic in terms of fetomaternal outcome except no maternal mortality in 3rd wave. Copyright © 2022 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.
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BACKGROUND: Anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibody GN is a rare glomerular disease (0.5-1 per million population) with poor outcome in terms of renal survival. It is caused by auto-antibodies against the non-collagenous domain of the a3 chain of type IV collagen and usually present as a rapidly progressive crescentic GN. Anti-GBM GN may present either as an isolated kidney disease or as a pulmonary-renal syndrome (Goodpasture's syndrome) in 40%-60% of patients. Linear staining of the GBMs for immunoglobulin ( Predominantly IgG & rarely IgA ) in renal biopsy with anti-GBM antibodies in serum is pathognomonic of Anti-GBM disease. Initiating immunosuppression with steroids and cyclophosphamide plus plasmapheresis are the cornerstone of treatment whereas no treatment is recommended if dialysis dependent at presentation 100% crescents or >50% global glomerulosclerosis in an adequate biopsy sample or not having pulmonary hemorrhage. AIM OF THE STUDY: To study demographic and clinical profile treatment administered and outcome (in terms of renal survival) in the patients with biopsy-proven anti-GBM disease. METHOD(S): Single-center prospective observational study (January 2021 to June 2022 ) and study population being the admitted patients in Nephrology Department of I.P.G.M.E.R and SSKM hospital Kolkata. RESULT(S): Total 7 patients were diagnosed as having Anti- GBM disease in this time period with median age of 42 yrs ( range from 11 yrs to 68 yrs), and Female : Male ratio was 5:2. Rapidly Progressive Renal Failure with Oliguria (71.4% ) was the most common presentation and 85.7% required Hemodialysis on presentation. 57.1% patients had 100% crescent in renal biopsy. 1 out of 7 patients had overlap with MPO and did not required RRT at presentation. 1 out of 7 patients had associated pulmonary hemorrhage. 28.5% patients received PLEX while others were treated supportively as per protocol. 28.5% patients previously had COVID 19 infection which was diagnosed retrospectively by detecting COVID 19 IgG antibody in serum. 71.4% patients end up in HD requiring renal failure while 1 patient succumbed to death. CONCLUSION(S): Most of the patients aged between 20 yrs to 60 yrs and were female (both 71.4%). Most of the patients (71.4%) received supportive treatment as per protocol. Only 1 patient (with MPO overlap) is dialysis free with discharge creatinine of 3.3 and receiving EUVAS protocol. Most of the patients who presented late with HD requiring renal failure end up in ESRD.
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The pandemic has impacted education sector at various levels. The institutions across the world either closed for few weeks/months or changed their session time to cope with the pandemic situations. The institutes are also struggling to change the education governance adapting to the new normal situation and education continuity. Along with the world Thailand has also faced a major transformation in education system from physical classroom teaching to virtual online learning platforms. The present exploratory study discusses on the different methods/strategies that the educational institute followed for the quick adaptation to this new era of digital education. The longer term disruption in the education and its disproportionate impacts exacerbate the prolonged social disparities rather than alleviate it. The study also discusses the direct and indirect impacts of COVID-19 on education sector at the community level in Thailand. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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A numerical analysis using OpenFOAM has been performed in this work to investigate the infection risk due to droplet dispersal in an enclosed environment resembling an elevator, since infection risk in such confined places is very high. The effect of two scenarios on droplet dispersal, namely, the quiescent and the fan-driven ventilation, both subjected to various climatic conditions (of temperature and humidity) ranging from cold-humid (15 °C, 70% relative humidity) to hot-dry (30 °C, 30% relative humidity) have been studied. A risk factor derived from a dose-response model constructed upon the temporally averaged pathogen quantity existing around the commuter's mouth is used to quantify the risk of infection through airborne mode. It is found that the hot, dry quiescent scenario poses the greatest threat of infection (spatio-averaged risk factor 42%), whereas the cold-humid condition poses the least risk of infection (spatio-averaged risk factor 30%). The proper fan speed is determined for the epidemiologically safe operation of the elevator. The fan ventilation scenario with 1100 RPM (having a spatio-averaged risk factor of 10%) decreases the risk of infection by 67% in a hot, dry climatic condition as compared to a quiescent scenario and significantly in other climatic ambiences as well. The deposition potential of aerosolized droplets in various parts of the respiratory tract, namely, the extrathoracic and the alveolar and bronchial regions, has been analyzed thoroughly because of the concomitant repercussions of infection in various depths of the respiratory region. In addition, the airborne mode of infection and the fomite mode of infection (infection through touch) have also been investigated for both the ventilation scenarios. © 2022 Author(s).
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As cities worldwide are striving to cope with the ongoing crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, switching to digital platforms has sparked interest in many stakeholders in response to pandemic recovery. The uncertainty of such future shocks questions our way of addressing urban issues at a micro and Macro-Level. The virus makes physical proximity vulnerable to risks. Hence, urgency is required to shift operations to an online mode to ensure COVID-19 safety norms, maintain continuity in operation and productivity at a distance. It may indicate that worldwide, e-commerce giants have grown during the pandemic for their ability to operate through contactless platforms. On the other hand, local stores and markets suffered due to such giants’ growth and Covid restrictions. This research explores challenges in the local retail sector caused by the pandemic and proposes a Design-Based solution. Considering Industry 4.0, mobile apps hold the potential to ease workflow and are easily accessible to all. Our final proposition would be to design a mobile app prototype (which would also be co-designed with the users). Methodologically, we have followed a Bottom-Up model approach and performed exhaustive user research and a heuristic evaluation with a probable user group. Only through understanding and accommodating the ‘larger’ community can we all cope with the after-effects of this crisis. This research presents an opportunity for consumers to show solidarity with the small Indian retailers and shop the old, local and sustainable way again. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
ABSTRACT
The current COVID-19 pandemic and its uncertainty have given rise to various myths and rumours. These myths spread incredibly fast through social media, which has caused massive panic in society. In this paper, we comprehensively examined the prevailing myths related to COVID-19 in regard to the diffusion of myths, people's engagement with myths and people's subjective emotions to myths. First, we classified the myths into five categories: spread of infection, preventive measures, detection measures, treatment and miscellaneous. We collected the tweets about each category of myths from 1 January to 7 July in the year 2020. We found that the vast majority of the myth tweets were about the spread of the infection. Next, we fitted myths spreading with the SIR epidemic model and calculated the basic reproduction number R-0 for each category of myths. We observed that the myths about the spread of infection and preventive measures propagated faster than other categories of myths, and more miscellaneous myths raised and quickly spread from later June 2020. We further analyzed people's emotions evoked by each category of myths and found that fear was the strongest emotion in all categories of myths and around 64% of the collected tweets expressed the emotion of fear. The study in this paper provides insights for authorities and governments to understand the myths during the eruption of the pandemic, and hence enable targeted and feasible measures to demystify the most concerned myths in due time.
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Background: Physiotherapeutic intervention body positioning have been observed to increase oxygen saturation. In COVID-19 patients, we intended to investigate how the prone position worked in conjunction with conventional respiratory physiotherapy. The objective was to determine the effect of prone position along with conventional respiratory physiotherapy on SpO2 of COVID-19 patients in Aurobindo hospital, Indore district. Methods: The Ministry of Health, Government of India, authorized the rules for collecting data from infected patients. In this study, 400 patients between the ages of 20 and 80 years old were recruited from Sri Aurobindo Hospital in the Indore district, all of them had a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 and required oxygen treatment. SpO2 data was collected as a baseline. Patients were helped into the prone position after baseline data collection and conventional respiratory physiotherapy. Clinical data was obtained again after using the prone posture in conjunction with conventional respiratory physiotherapy. To demonstrate the various prone variations, a patient information sheet was supplied. At 0 and 60 minutes after the exercise, oxygen saturation was measured. Results: Between April 2020 to June 2020, we assessed SpO2 of 400 Patients pre and post prone position along with conventional respiratory physiotherapy. Prone positioning was feasible. Oxygenation was significantly improved from supine to prone position. The data were processed for mean and standard deviation. It was analyzed that there was difference in pre to post value of mean, from 95.685 to 98.123 with standard deviation from 1.645to 1.445. The result shows significant improvement in SpO2 after applying prone positioning in patients infected with COVID-19. The findings suggest that prone positioning is both possible and beneficial in increasing blood oxygenation in awake COVID-19 patients. Further study is needed to find the technique's potential value in terms of enhancing overall respiratory and global outcomes. Conclusion: The difference between the saturation of the two position was significant.
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Aim: Virtual consultation (VC) became the new norm for providing outpatient clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is likely to be adopted in some form going forward. This study prospectively evaluated the effectiveness&safety of VC undertaken at a UK tertiary paediatric surgical centre during the pandemic. Method: Data on paediatric surgery/urology outpatient video/telephone consultations between May-June 2020 was prospectively collected. VC episodes were given outcomes (1,2or3) depending how well surgeons were able to make definitive diagnoses/plans. 6months later, findings at later face-to-face visit were retrospectively compared with earlier VC to assess accuracy of decision-making using VC. Telephone survey of patient experience was done. Results: 186VC were evaluated. 95 (51%) were paediatric general surgical patients and 91 (49%) urology. 118 (63%) were follow-ups and 68 (37%) new. In 70% of cases, clinicians were able to make definitive diagnosis/ plan using VC (outcome1) while 26% could be delayed till face-toface consultation is safe (outcome2). 7 patients (4%) needed to be brought in urgently (outcome3). Clinicians were significantly more able to make definitive diagnosis/plan in urology and follow-up patients. Of those brought back for scheduled follow-up/surgery, there was 93% correlation between findings at physical consultation compared to the definitive plans made at VC. Patient survey showed 92% overall satisfaction rate. 75% felt VC is comparable to face-to-face/would use VC again. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that VC is an effective&safe way to structure paediatric surgical outpatient care and it highlights the patient categories in which VC is most suitable.
ABSTRACT
Today, the general situation worldwide is that the hospitals, sanatoriums and medical colleges are running out of beds, oxygen, medical staff, ventilators and other required paraphernalia that is mandatory for the treatment of the vicious pandemic [1]. The requirement is for a system that takes in some input parameters like Oxygen level of the patient, pulse rate and respiration rate and in turn predicts the Life Risk Rate of that patient [2]. The model used here is a fuzzy regression model that gives the prediction of Life Risk Rate between 1 and 10 units. The lower the predicted Life Risk Rate, the better the chances of survival of the Covid patient. But if the predicted Life Risk Rate is more than the mean of the observations of the Risk in the dataset, then immediate emergency is needed. The benefit of this system is that the patients requiring immediate admission and treatment can be filtered and medical aid in hospital be thereby provided for critical patients. Rest may be home quarantined and domestic medical aid may be given to them until in some unfortunate situation their Risk Rate is near alarming. This paper aims to provide some help in this crucial situation. © 2021 Gnedenko Forum. All right reserved.
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Malrotation of small bowel with midgut volvulus has a very low incidence of 0.2% in adults. Symptomatic malrotation in neonates occur in one in 6000 live births. The normal 270 degrees counter-clockwise gut rotation around the axis of superior mesenteric artery is absent in such cases. A 20-year-old male presented with intermittent colicky abdominal pain since four to five months, post-prandial bilious vomiting since one week and obstipation since two days. He also had difficulty breathing since two days. Abdominal examination revealed vague lump in right lower abdomen with no signs of peritonitis. Radiological investigations Ultrasonography (USG) and Contrast Enhanced Computed Tomography (CECT) abdomen demonstrated over distended stomach with dilated D1 and D2 showing changes in relation to superior mesenteric artery and superior mesenteric vein with rotation of mesentery in whirlpool pattern. His Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction Test (RT-PCR) was positive for Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19). Conservative trial for two days was followed by surgical exploration which revealed gut malrotation with mid-gut volvulus. Ladd's procedure was performed. Malrotation with midgut volvulus is an acute surgical emergency that demands high index of suspicion in an adult. Associated COVID-19 pneumonia can increase mortality. Patient was followed-up after three weeks with fruitful results, proving that an early diagnosis and definitive surgical correction of malrotation with midgut volvulus is essential.
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The rapid spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic poses a threat to human civilization. This infectious outbreak induced a global menace, resulting in day-to-day community and social services standstill. Countries like China and Italy are positioned at an alarming stage of this pandemic, and India is also testifying a rapid outbreak of the COVID-19.This unprecedented scenario warrants the formulation of a robust mechanism to estimate the misfortunes of this pandemic in these three countries to assist governments in countermeasuring the COVID-19 catastrophe. In the light of fast varying fatality data rendered by the World Health Organization (WHO), a spectrum of case-based fatality assessments for the COVID-19 is presented that differs considerably in measurements. This publication elucidates the scope of the curve-fitting methods in terms of the goodness-of-fit statistics and support vector machine-based regression (SVR) in estimating the misfortunes of COVID-19 in China, Italy, and India in a given time frame. Consequently, we achieved a reasonably small root mean squared error (RMSE) for the SVR method in predicting the adversities induced by this global pandemic in China and India. In contrast, conventional regression offers a better estimate to sketch the outbreak pattern in Italy. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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Recently the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak is inflicting devastation on human civilization. This infectious virus spreads like wildfire, already affected millions worldwide, and the numbers are still increasing. This situation warrants a comprehensive strategy backed by futuristic estimations to counter COVID-19 adversities. Like any other country globally, India is also encountering an uphill task to fight against this unfortunate pandemic, with six million-plus COVID-19 cumulative infected cases by the first week of October 2020. This publication elucidates the use of four state-of-art models, namely the Abbasov - Mamedova (AM) Fuzzy, proposed Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Auto-ARIMA, and Auto-MLP, to forecast the number of cumulative infected COVID-19 cases in India. These models exhibited high forecast accuracy for 30 days ahead scenario with MAPE ranges from 0.44 to 1.83% in the test condition, whereas a MAPE range of 1.09 to 2.39% in real-time. We estimated the COVID-19 cases fortnightly and observed that the proposed MLP exhibited the flattening of the COVID-19 curve, whereas other models exhibited a rising trend. Though our proposed MLP outperformed other models, we employed all four methods and estimated a range between 8.53 to 13.77 million COVID-19 positives by 4th January 2021 in India. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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With the transition to online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for identifying effective methods of assessment has become paramount. The methods of traditional summative in-person, paperand-pencil exams could not be adapted to the online environment. In case of unsupervised (nonproctored) exams it was impossible to ensure students' academic honesty. Some universities have offered remotely supervised (proctored) examinations, which has been a rare exception. The pandemic prompted teachers to innovate their assessment practice and apply formative assessment methods as an alternative to traditional summative assessment. They have started using tasks such as e-portfolios, online learning journals, blogs, online presentations, creative writing, and open-book exams, which present golden opportunities to involve students in the assessment process. This study aims to explore assessment-related experiences of language and communication teachers at higher education institutions (HEIs) during the pandemic. Our mixed-method research combines an international survey administered to university language and communication teachers (N=301) with in-depth interviews with a selection of participants (n=18) of the same background. The results provide valuable insights into the perceptions that university language and communication teachers have of effective assessment methods and pedagogical approaches engaging learners in assessment. The implications of the study advocate a growing trend toward a wider use of learner-centered assessment.
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As of 6th September 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected a total of 188 countries and has spread across to 26,924,131 people. The causal organism responsible for COVID-19 is SARS-CoV-2 which resurged from the coronavirus family. COVID-19 range and rapidity of spread imposed a heavy burden on the healthcare services and led to stringent public help measures. The consequence of this is a detriment to the global economy in a background of continued morbidity and mortality from complications of COVID-19. Hence research and development dedicated to studying the coronavirus family may assist with discovering a COVID-19 specific treatment. This chapter aims to clarify the basics of coronavirus virology, i.e. taxonomy, virion structure and molecular pathophysiology. Furthermore, the history and origins of the human coronavirus cluster (HCoV-229E, HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-HKU1), as well as severe epidemic/pandemic causing coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV) is highlighted. As the coronavirus research is rapidly expanding, we have emphasized on a select few novel studies on the association of human coronaviruses with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor tissue distribution, Kawasaki Disease, Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone-System, repurposing antiviral agents, CoV main protease (MPro) inhibitor, dexamethasone efficacy, BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card and ABO blood group system.
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A brief history of the human coronaviruses (HCoVs) tells us that they are inherently zoonotic in origin. The molecular analysis of these HCoVs revealed a large genome of approximately 30 kb that encodes for a fixed subset of structural proteins, non-structural proteins, and varied accessory proteins. Additionally, the HCoV genomes have a prerequisite ability to undergo mutation and recombination that fosters advantageous gene gain and gene losses. A culmination of all these factors has led to the evolution of HCoVs that can cause mild infections as well as the global pandemic COVID-19. Using simplified phylogenetic trees, we elucidate the probable primary zoonotic origin and the animal reservoirs for the HCoV family. This chapter aims to highlight the evolution of the common cold triggering HCoV cluster (HCoV-229E, HCoV-NL63, HCoV-OC43, and HCoV-HKU1), as well as the severe epidemic and pandemic causing HCoV cluster (SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS-CoV). The final section of this chapter is dedicated to exploring clinical therapies against the above CoVs. As such the CoV replication pathways are exploited, and a select few repurposed drug candidates, novel agents, and their combination are organized based on the steps they inhibit in this pathway.