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Electric vehicles are an important part of governments' environmental policies, and therefore understanding the factors affecting their market share is very important. So, this research is designed to investigate the factors affecting electric vehicle adoption, considering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and sustainable development level. Effective factors have been investigated in three categories. One is the characteristics of electric vehicles;the other is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on demand for these vehicles;and finally, the impact of the level of sustainable development of countries on adopting electric vehicles. Our analysis method is based on grey econometric and grey regression methods. The results show that vehicle dimensions, battery warranty conditions, battery life, and charging facilities are effective factors in the field of vehicle characteristics that can increase the adoption of electric vehicles. Also, the analysis shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the adoption of electric vehicles. Finally, we have shown that the market share of electric vehicles is higher in countries with a higher sustainable development level because of better economic, social, and cultural infrastructures.
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This study analyzes the impact of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on cryptocurrency returns for a sample of 100 highly capitalized cryptocurrencies from January 2016 to May 2021. The results of the panel data analysis and quantile regression show that increases in global EPU have a positive impact on cryptocurrency returns for lower cryptocurrency returns quantiles and an adverse impact for upper quantiles. In line with the existing literature, the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in higher returns for cryptocurrencies. Inclusion of a Covid-19 dummy in the models strengthened the impact of EPU on cryptocurrency returns. Furthermore, the relationship between the change in EPU and cryptocurrency returns was direct in the pre-Covid-19 period but inverse in the post-Covid-19 period. These results imply that cryptocurrencies act more like traditional financial assets in the post-Covid-19 era. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.
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Background: Low back pain as a symptom affects many individuals around the globe regardless of their economic status or sociodemographic characteristics. During the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic, students found themselves obligated to sit down for long periods of time. The aim of this current study is to investigate the impact of these prolonged periods of sitting down in front of computers on developing a new episode of low back pain. Methods and Materials: This research adopted an observational cross-section study design. Students who are currently enrolled or had experienced distance learning classes in the last 6 months were eligible to participate. An online-based questionnaire was developed by the investigators through reviewing the literature with relevant objectives. McNemar's test was used to compare certain variables between two periods before and during online distance learning. We used paired t-tests to compare pain intensity before, during, and after online learning, while a chi-square test was used to investigate correlations between factors influencing low back pain. Results: A total of 84 students participated in the study46 (54.8%) females and 38 (45.2%) males. Before online distance learning, only 42.9% of participants reported low back pain, while only 20% had a back injury. The mean pain scores before, during, and after online distance learning were (2.85 ± 2.16, 4.79 ± 2.6, and 4.76 ± 2.7), respectively. The pain scores before online learning were significantly lower than pain scores during and after online distance learning (p < 0.05), respectively. Conclusion: The study findings suggested that low back pain prevalence increased among students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research should study participants' behavior during the online learning and assess the long-run impact of distance learning among high-school and undergraduate students.
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COVID-19 , Education, Distance , Low Back Pain , Male , Female , Humans , Low Back Pain/epidemiology , COVID-19/epidemiology , Education, Distance/methods , Prevalence , Pandemics , Back Pain/epidemiology , StudentsABSTRACT
The coronavirus pandemic has forced lockdown in many countries, reducing the use of vehicles and planes, resulting in a negative oil demand shock. In the USA, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil FOB spot price was recorded to be negative $36.98 per barrel on April 20, 2020. This would seem to be good news for oil importers and bad news for oil exporters. However, the results of an event study analysis of indices data ranging from July 1, 2019 to May 29, 2020 present a different picture. The incidence of a negative oil price had a negative impact on the stock markets of both major oil importing and exporting countries, although the effects on exporting countries were much more negative. Cumulative average abnormal returns, measured using a historical mean model and in reference to the event day of April 20, were significantly negative for all groups in the first two days, vanishing quickly in the very short term. Copyright © 2023 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
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Covid-19 related border restrictions and national lockdowns have challenged the overall resilience of hotel supply chains in New Zealand due to the industry's over-reliance on international tourists. Using case study research methodology, this study interviewed 13 hotel managers in Akaroa, a famous tourist destination located near Banks Peninsula in the South Island of New Zealand. This study has revealed that the major objectives for these supply chains were related to surviving and maintaining breakeven during the lockdown periods (March 2020 and August 2021). Significantly, during these restrictions, most of the interviewed hotels streamlined their internal operations and focused on building better relationships with their network partners. Having an extensive network structure, and the help of key government organisations like Tourism NZ (who shared information and created targeted marketing campaigns focused on attracting domestic tourists), enabled these supply chains to bounce back relatively quickly. While managers faced many challenges but the key challenge was demand management as the relationship with online suppliers (booking.com) was deteriorating. Suppliers and other service providers for these hotels also found themselves in a difficult position (due to Covid-19 related restrictions) that further worsened the situation. By modifying their products and services, adjusting their prices, utilising local suppliers, diversifying their customer bases, and coordinating with tour operators in the region, these hotel supply chains were able to quickly recover and today, show further signs of improvement. © The Author(s) 2022.
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This paper investigates the link between crude oil prices (COP) and green bonds through a rolling-window Granger-causality test. The positive, negative, and uncorrelated impacts of COP on the green bond index (GBI) are captured with the same sample. The positive effects show that the prosperity of the green bond market is promoted by the high COP, demonstrating that green bonds can avoid shocks from COP. Nevertheless, due to the high profits of the green energy industry and the excess supply on the oil market, the negative impact between COP and GBI is also found. These results are not completely consistent with the price correlation model between oil and green bonds. Furthermore, the positive impact of the GBI on COP shows that green bonds cannot moderate the oil crisis due to COVID-19, instability in the international political environment, and the immaturity of green bonds market. In addition, depending on the quantile Granger-causality test, only high COP affects the GBI, and this asymmetric feature is attributed to increasing production costs and environmental protection pressure. Understanding the nexus between COP and the GBI is of practical significance for bond issuers, regulators, and investors. © 2022 Borsa Ä°stanbul Anonim Åžirketi
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This paper investigates how oil price (OP) influences the prospects of green bonds by utilising the quantile-onquantile (QQ) method and researching the interactions between OP and green bond index (GBI) from 2011:M1 to 2021:M11. We find that impacts from OP on the GBI are positive in the short run. The positive effects indicate that high OP can promote the development of the green bond market, indicating that green bonds can be considered an asset to avoid OP shocks. However, in the medium and long term, there is a negative impact due to the oversupply of the oil market and the increase in green energy industry profits. These results are identical to the supply and demand-based correlation model of green bonds and oil price, which underlines a specific effect of OP on GBI. The GBI effect on OP is consistently positive across all quantiles. It indicates that green bonds cannot be considered efficient measures to alleviate the oil crisis due to the instability of the Middle East COVID-19 and the small scale of green bonds. The issuers of green bonds can make decisions based on OP. Understanding the relationship between OP and GBI is also beneficial for investors. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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Introduction: as the epidemiological trend of COVID-19 infection continue to evolve with increasing prevalence and incidence globally, management of cases in low-resource health care settings require basic detailed clinical and laboratory characteristics. This study retrospectively described the clinical and laboratory characteristics of confirmed COVID-19 cases admitted into the isolation centre of ATBUTH, Bauchi. Method(s): clinical and laboratory data of 84 confirmed COVID-19 cases admitted into the isolation centre of ATBUTH, Bauchi according to NCDC guidelines were used. Diagnosis was based on nasal and nasopharyngeal swab positive result of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) result. Data extracted includes demographic, clinical presentations and laboratory characteristics. Result(s): the 84 COVID-19 patients comprised of 72% (59) males and 28% (25) females with mean age of 41.0+/-10.5 years, majority of the patients were within age-group 21-40 years. Forty-one percent presented with mild to moderate symptoms, 3.6% (3) presented with severe symptoms while 58.3% (49) were asymptomatic with mean body temperature of 36.60C +/- Sa. The common clinical manifestations were fever 23.4% (19) and cough 20.7% (17). About 29.3% of the patients had comorbidities, 17.1% (14) were hypertensive while 12.2% of the diabetic. Thirty percent (10) of the patients with DM required intensive care unit (ICU) admission with 10% mortality. Biochemical parameters were within normal range for all the patients. However, haematological parameters showed increased neutrophil (10, 43.5%) and lymphocyte count (19 (59.4%). Conclusion(s): the study findings revealed high number of asymptomatic cases, similarity in clinical manifestation and relatively normal laboratory characteristics. More experience with increase in number of patients may provide additional information. Interrupting community transmission will require early detection and contact trace of asymptomatic cases. Copyright © 2020, African Field Epidemiology Network. All rights reserved.
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Background: COVID-19 is a novel infection. Since its first case report in 2019, it has affected population globally. Healthcare workers are at most risk as they are in direct contact with patients. Aim(s): To record recurrence of symptomatic COVID 19 after complete doses of Sinopharm vaccine among healthcare workers. Study design: Descriptive case series Place and duration of study: Department of Gastroenterology, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi from 12th December 2021 to 11th June 2022. Methodology: Twenty four healthcare workers and between 20-60 years who had COVID-19 infection previously and despite receiving two doses of Sinopharm vaccine, again developed symptomatic COVID-19 diseases were enrolled. The severity was graded as per guidelines provided by CEAG. The extent of exposure during work was documented. Result(s): No significant association was found with any of the healthcare workers with duration and extent of vaccination. Upto 66% of the front line workers got COVID at 5th month and no considerable variation was noticed in other months of the vaccination. Similarly, three PGs also got COVID at 5th month and at 5th month highest number of frontline workers got COVID-19. Conclusion(s): COVID-19 reinfection can occur even after vaccination though symptoms remain relatively mild and Sinopharm provides protection against severe infection for prevention of COVID-19. Copyright © 2022 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.
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Foreign direct investment (FDI) is the most reliable form of international capital flows, and it may be notably prone to increased uncertainty because of its high fixed costs. In this paper, we use the rolling window causality and the quantile-based Granger causality method to investigate the nonlinear dependence between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in China for the period between 1999:M06 to 2021:M12. The empirical findings of the study show that EPU exerts a negative impact on FDI inflows during the majority of the time periods that have been studied. However, during the U.S subprime crisis in US, the effect was positive. That is, it can be inferred that the FDI inflows are not always hampered by the Chinese government's economic policy uncertainty. We enlarged our study with the quantile-based Granger causality method to assess robustness. In view of the recent dynamic economic condition and COVID-19 pandemic, the results suggest China's government should focus on more openness and improving its domestic business environment to enhance foreign investors' trust and avoid a possible drop-off in FDI inflows. © 2022, Bucharest University of Economic Studies. All rights reserved.
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The motive of this work is to find the numerical simulations of a dynamical HIV model along with the effects of prevention, i.e., HIPV nonlinear mathematical system. An advance computational framework using the procedures of Meyer neural networks (MNNs) together with the compotnecies of local/global search approaches is presented to solve the HIPV nonlinear mathematical system. The global and local operators will be used as genetic algorithm (GA) and interor-point algorithm (IPA), i.e., GAIPA. The dynamicis of HIPV mathematical system is classified into four categories, ‘T-cells attentiveness’, ‘Infected from disease, ‘Prevention actions’ and ‘Virus free particles. An error function is constructed using the differential system and its boundary conditions. The optimization of this function is presented through the hybridization computing paradigms of MWNNs-GAIPA. The correctness of the designed MWNNs-GAIPA is obtained by using the comparion of the obtained and reference solutions. The performance of this scheme is also acheived through the overlapping of the results with the accuracy of order 5 t 7 in the plots of absolute error. The reliability of the proposed MWNNs-GAIPA solver is observed by providing the statistical analysis by using different operators.
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The Covid-19 pandemic has been assumed as a global pandemic as it caused disruption in all fields of life. The supply chain of manufacturing firms are also adversely affected by this pandemic. Keeping this in view, the current study is conducted to analyze the role of business data analytics (BDA) and digital marketing in improving Chinese firm performance during Covid-19. In this study, cross-sectional data was collected through questionnaire, and CB-SEM was employed to test hypotheses. The results indicate that BDA adoption helps firms move towards digital marketing and improve the firm's performance by effectively analyzing information, predicting behavioral model, and enhancing product delivery services. This article concluded that firms with well-developed technological infrastructure were least effected through Covid-19 pandemic. The current study recommends adopting BDA in firms as it helps firms respond to risky scenarios and enhances their resilience during uncertainty.
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This paper investigates how oil price (OP) influences the prospects of green bonds by utilising the quantile-onquantile (QQ) method and researching the interactions between OP and green bond index (GBI) from 2011:M1 to 2021:M11. We find that impacts from OP on the GBI are positive in the short run. The positive effects indicate that high OP can promote the development of the green bond market, indicating that green bonds can be considered an asset to avoid OP shocks. However, in the medium and long term, there is a negative impact due to the oversupply of the oil market and the increase in green energy industry profits. These results are identical to the supply and demand-based correlation model of green bonds and oil price, which underlines a specific effect of OP on GBI. The GBI effect on OP is consistently positive across all quantiles. It indicates that green bonds cannot be considered efficient measures to alleviate the oil crisis due to the instability of the Middle East COVID-19 and the small scale of green bonds. The issuers of green bonds can make decisions based on OP. Understanding the relationship between OP and GBI is also beneficial for investors.
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The current research aimed to find out the effect of tourism development on economic growth in Pakistan for the period (1995 to 2017) by using Canonical Regression Analysis (CCR) and Dynamic Least Square (DOLS) method. In addition, a unit root test is used to find out the static nature of the variables, and for the robust check, the authors utilize the Fully Modified Least Square (FMOLS) method. The results of the CCR and DOLS shows the key role of tourism development on growth, and FMOLS confirms these findings. In addition, the contribution of financial development is insignificant and positive. However, inflation harms economic growth, which depicts that the government of Pakistan will face severe challenges to achieve the targeted level of growth in future. In addition, an outbreak of Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) is another challenge that will cause a significant decline in tourism receipts. © 2021 by MIP.
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Objective: To determine the viewpoints of the faculty members about digital learning at Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU) during COVID pandemic. Methodology: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out during August 2020 among 89 faculty members of RMU with diverse designation. Data were collected by using digitally administered Google forms based on 5 point likert scale through convenience sampling. Information was gathered regarding perceived advantages and key troubles faced in smooth execution of online teaching. Data analysis was done with SPSS version 25.0. Results: Of the total 89 faculty members, 30.4% were demonstrators, 23.6% Senior Registrars and 21.3% Assistant Professors. About 87% faculty agreed with adequate curriculum coverage during online teaching, 84% found MS Teams interface user friendly while 82% conveniently generated link for their online class. About 38% faculty confronted with internet connectivity issues while 40% were satisfied with students’ response during online class. Only 22% respondents agreed with impartiality of online assessments and judgment of competencies. Conclusion: Digital learning greatly facilitated in academic continuity during pandemic. However, provision of broad band internet facility, making sessions interactive and using diverse online assessment modalities can be helpful to much extent in justified appraisal of clinical competencies. © 2022, Pakistan Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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BACKGROUND: COVID-19 the ongoing pandemic. Mortality due to other reasons, other than COVID-19 across age groups reduced which was anecdotally reported from Pakistan. This survey was undertaken to assess the number of deaths recorded in Islamabad from 1st March 2019 to 30th May 2019 and from 1st March 2020 to 30th May 2020 and compare the two estimates by age and gender while documenting the cause of deaths. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted in the Islamabad from 11th to 16th June 2020, comprising of secondary data received on age, gender, cause of death and months of death from the both, large private-public hospitals records and graveyards registers. Data was entered in both SPSS and Microsoft Excel and analysed using SPSS 22. RESULTS: The total number of hospitals and graveyards approached in ICT were 14 and 4 respectively. The total number of deaths reported from these during March to June in 2019 and 2020 were 2,389;out of which 1,225 (51.3%) deaths were recorded in 2019 and 1,162 (48.6%) deaths in 2020. In both years, predominant variables with more mortality were both age and gender between 61-70 years of age 511 (21.4%) 1,395 (58.4%) males respectively. CONCLUSIONS: More deaths were reported in males with old age. Cardio vascular diseases and neurological disorders were the leading causes of mortality. Not much of a larger difference in number of deaths between the both years was seen. Scarcity of data and unavailability of evidence make the anecdotal reports mere just a rumour.
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The Covid-19 Pandemic forced the global closure of numerous activities along with education and shifted traditional education to an online version via two e-learning platforms, i.e., synchronous and asynchronous. This transition was unplanned for all educational institutions, due to which teachers and students had to face several teaching/learning challenges. Thereby a quantitative study was designed to investigate the learning satisfaction of students in both synchronous and asynchronous learning environments from public universities of Karachi, Pakistan. The participants of the study were selected through simple random sampling, and 108 students from different universities filled the complete questionnaires. The data were analyzed through various statistical tests, i.e., (mean, standard deviation and Pearson correlation, and T-test. The Findings identified that students showed significantly higher satisfaction in the synchronous learning environment. Thereby, the study mainly suggests that the learning process should be facilitated by synchronous e-learning mode by providing adequate institutional support to optimize their learning satisfaction by raising their digital competence. Besides, teachers should employ activity-based teaching Strategies for keeping students involved in the learning process. © 2021 IEEE.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has hugely impacted global public health and economy. The COVID-19 has also shown potential impacts on maternal perinatal and neonatal outcomes. This systematic review aimed to summarize the evidence from existing systematic reviews about the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infections on maternal perinatal and neonatal outcomes. We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, from 1 December 2019 to 7 July 2021, for published review studies that included case reports, primary studies, clinical practice guidelines, overviews, case-control studies, and observational studies. Systematic reviews that reported the plausibility of mother-to-child transmission of COVID-19 (also known as vertical transmission), maternal perinatal and neonatal outcomes, and review studies that addressed the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy were also included. We identified 947 citations, of which 69 studies were included for further analysis. Most (>70%) of the mother-to-child infection was likely due to environmental exposure, although a significant proportion (about 20%) was attributable to potential vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Further results of the review indicated that the mode of delivery of pregnant women infected with SARS-CoV-2 could not increase or decrease the risk of infection for the newborns (outcomes), thereby emphasizing the significance of breastfeeding. The issue of maternal perinatal and neonatal outcomes with SARS-CoV-2 infection continues to worsen during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, increasing maternal and neonatal mortality, stillbirth, ruptured ectopic pregnancies, and maternal depression. Based on this study, we observed increasing rates of cesarean delivery from mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection. We also found that SARS-CoV-2 could be potentially transmitted vertically during the gestation period. However, more data are needed to further investigate and follow-up, especially with reports of newborns infected with SARS-CoV-2, in order to examine a possible long-term adverse effect.
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COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/transmission , COVID-19/virology , Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/epidemiology , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/virology , SARS-CoV-2/physiology , COVID-19/diagnosis , Cesarean Section , Female , Humans , Pregnancy , Pregnancy OutcomeABSTRACT
Due to the arrival of a novel coronavirus, the year 2020 will forever be remembered. It is not hyperbole to state that COVID-19 has affected and infected almost everyone in society and the global community in different ways. However, many parts of the world seem to be improving. Individuals, organisations, and governments are trying to work through some effective strategies. The present study investigates the influence of fluctuation in the oil prices, COVID-19, and daily news-based index on Electronic Arts Inc's stock prices by applying a novel approach entitled Quantile Autoregressive Distributed Lag (QARDL) during 2019–2020. This approach is quite meaningful as it incorporates various quantiles with a comprehensive explanation of overall dependence among stated variables ignored by the traditional models like quantile regression, OLS, ARDL, etc. The study outcomes through QARDL reveal that the error correction coefficient is significant in various quantiles while confirming the long-run linkage among oil price, COVID-19, and EPU. More specifically, the study outcomes confirm a positive linkage (in all the quantiles) between COVID-19 and stock prices of Electronic Arts Inc, whereas a negative connection (for 0.20th to 0.95th quantiles) between oil prices and SPI. Furthermore, the Granger causality findings indicate the bidirectional causality between SPI and OIL and between SPI and EPU. Various policy implications are also provided under the present study. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of Covid-19 on social and eco-environmental sustainability. It will also investigate the effect of advanced technologies in the post-pandemic era. Design/methodology/approach: To get the robust findings, GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) modeling is employed on the panel data of 50 countries across the globe. Findings: The outcomes indicate that gross fixed capital, logistical operations, knowledge spillover are positive, while Covid-19 is negatively associated with international trade. The results also revealed that Covid-19 spurs poverty and vulnerable employment, while the fertility rate increase creates pressure on economic growth. Also, fossil fuel and energy consumption contribute to carbon emission, while green and advanced technologies may mitigate the environment's adverse effects. Originality/value: This study is the first of its kind to provide a solution to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic in the post-pandemic environment. Furthermore, researchers, managers and legislators can use this article's findings to formulate relevant policies for post-pandemic. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.