Physical Activity and Post-COVID-19 Syndrome in Older Adults: A Systematic Review

Background: Physical activity (PA) may play a significant role in managing post-Coronavirus Disease (COVID)-19 syndrome, a significant public health concern among older adults. This study aimed to systematically review the evidence on post-COVID-19 symptoms, signs, risk factors, and the effects of PA programs in managing post-COVID-19 syndrome among older adults. Method: This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) recommendation. The systematic search was conducted in August 2022 using Scopus and MEDLINE (via PubMed) databases. Results: There were 51 documents screened, among which 10 (7 observational and 3 experimental studies) met the selection criteria. The reported post-COVID-19 symptoms and signs associated with physical health included dyspnea, fatigue, diarrhea, and sarcopenia, abnormal lung function, cardiac pathology, immunological changes, reduced physical performance, respectively, while those associated with mental health included depression, poor concentration and memory, and anxiety. Patients with higher body mass indexes were more likely to experience more symptoms. Older patients had greater difficulties in performing daily activities and mobility. A multidisciplinary-based PA program is suggested to be feasible and effective in improving fatigue, ability to walk, balance, and cognitive function. For patients with sarcopenia, a low-intensity aerobic training exercise appears to improve muscle strength, kinesiophobia, and quality of life. Conclusion: Various post-COVID-19 symptoms have been reported along with their risk factors, and PA programs are potentially used for managing these symptoms. More research, however, is recommended to explore the PA program for specific post-COVID-19 symptoms.

Corporate characteristics, audit quality and managerial entrenchment during the COVID-19 crisis: evidence from an emerging country

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between some corporate characteristics, audit quality and managerial entrenchment in Tunisian companies.Design/methodology/approachThe multivariate regression model is used for hypothesis testing using a sample of 224 listed observations on Tunisian Stock Exchange during 2014–2020. An exploratory factor analysis of four variables (chief executive officer (CEO) duality, CEO tenure, CEO seniority and CEO age) is used for calculating a unique index assessing the managerial entrenchment.FindingsThe results show a negative and significant relationship between audit quality and managerial entrenchment. The authors also find that firm characteristics affect management entrenchment. Precisely, corporate financial performance and firm leverage show positive connections with managerial entrenchment (ME). Additional analysis confirms the negative impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on managerial entrenchment level.Practical implicationsThe study's findings have practical implications that may be useful to different stakeholders, policymakers and regulatory bodies interested in reducing management entrenchment. This study offers signals to shareholders about specific governance attributes, namely audit quality, that control the extent of manager's entrenchment.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper consists in focusing on developing countries, namely the Tunisian context;while the managerial entrenchment phenomena has been widely examined in developed markets. Moreover, contrary to the overwhelming majority of previous studies that has used individual indexes for evaluating the entrenchment, the authors calculate a mixed index of managerial entrenchment using the principal component analysis based on four governance mechanisms (CEO duality, CEO age, CEO seniority and CEO tenure).

Does financial inclusion index and energy performance index co-move?

Financing strategies and energy performance have been extensively studied previously, and researchers frequently overlook the co-movements of integration of financial inclusion and energy performance index in the E7 Context. To address this gap, current research estimates the co-movement between the financial inclusion index and sustainable energy performance index to reflect the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. Our findings show that in E7 economies, China exceeds the other nations in terms of energy performance. With a steady score, Russia is second in the group. Indonesia and Turkey are respectively fourth and fifth, and their total results show excellent prospective performances for sustainability. Mexico and Brazil follow this ranking with bad results and the lowest scores reported in the study results. The study findings are helpful for policy formulation and assessment. The study presented recommendations about financial inclusion and energy management practices in COVID-19 and delivered insights about the energy performance index in E7 economies. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd

Modeling and Control of PV Emulator with Different Controllers and Transient Load Conditions

To keep up with the pace of renewable energy, PV Emulators are encouraged during the design and installation stages. Short circuit current, maximum power point and open circuit voltage are required to analyze the complete characteristic plot of PV panel.This paper focuses on the modeling and control of PV Emulators, as well as the comparison of the results obtained by implementing P,PI, PID and FOPID as conventional controllers with AI-based PSOPI, PSOPID and ANFIS controllers. This work will aid in minimizing time, cost and on-site constraints, allowing timely installation of PV panels after covid. Another distinguishing feature of this paper is the comparative analysis of designed models with various control strategies and their associated performance indices over complete range of PV characteristics. © 2023, National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research. All rights reserved.

Assessment of building energy performance integrated with solar PV: Towards a net zero energy residential campus in India

Building Applied Photovoltaics (BAPV) such as Roof-top Solar PV has gained significant attention in recent years for harnessing the untapped potential of renewable energy sources. However, rooftop PV poses hurdles of space restriction and shadowing in densely packed urban residential neighborhoods. This study aims to design and assess the feasibility of an integrated grid-connected Rooftop and Façade Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) for meeting the energy demand of residential buildings on an academic campus. Three distinctive groups of residential typologies have been investigated in this study, categorized based on built area and occupants' past energy usage. Additionally, the variation in the measured Energy Performance index of the three different residential groups is illustrated to pave the path for the development of a typology-based residential energy benchmarking and labelling system. The Solar PV system has been designed for the maximum household energy demand recorded in CoVID-affected years due to high residential electricity usage in this period. The study showcases that integration of façade BIPV for low-rise residential buildings increases the system energy production to up to 62.5 % based on the utilized surface area for active PV. Furthermore, the Net Zero Energy Building (ZEB) potential for each typology has been achieved by integration of the proposed Solar PV, evaluated as a function of the Energy Performance Index (EPI) and Energy Generation Index (EGI). The designed nominal PV power of the proposed grid-connected plant is 5.6 MW, producing 7182 MWh annually, meeting the maximum residential energy demand in the studied academic campus in CoVID affected year. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.

The Relationship between Corporate Sustainable Development Performance, Investor Sentiment, and Managerial Overconfidence

In the post-pandemic era, companies are facing challenges in their business development and may pay fewer attention to their sustainable development performance, whereas the investors are looking for better corporate sustainable development. Using a sample of Chinese listed companies during 2010–2018, this paper empirically examines the relation between corporate sustainable development performance, investor sentiment, and managerial overconfidence with econometric tools such as panel data regression and S-GMM estimation. Three kinds of corporate sustainable development activities as measured by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) indexes, including consumer rights, employee benefits, and environmental protection, are proved to have a positive impact on investor sentiment. Compared to the SME and GEM Board, investor sentiment in the Main Board is less affected by corporate sustainable development. Furthermore, investor’s high sentiment leads to high managerial confidence in the SME and GEM Board, and managerial overconfidence is self-correcting over time. This paper illustrates why maintaining good corporate sustainable development performance is beneficial for listed companies from a new perspective.

The Integration Mechanism of Music Intangible Cultural Heritage and Tourism Industry in the Internet of Things Environment

This work aims to optimize and innovate the protection, inheritance, and dissemination of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). Based on the Internet of Things (IoT), this work designs the music ICH development path under the cultural concept by integrating music ICH with the tourism industry in the smart city environment. Specifically, it innovatively proposes the integration mechanism of immersive scene design of music ICH with smart city’s tourism industry in the Internet of Things (IoT) context. Consequently, the music ICH brand equity evaluation model is built. This model can evaluate the importance of cultural and asset value of music ICH. The comprehensive evaluation index system of music ICH mainly includes four primary indexes (with eight secondary indexes): the live performance, historical value, music audience, and the tourism industry integration. In addition, at the beginning of the model iteration, the pattern recognition accuracy of the traditional model is only 67.5%. Then, the recognition accuracy of the traditional model can reach 72.5% at the 500th iteration. In contrast, the average recognition accuracy of the improved model can reach 80%, and the highest can reach 82.5%. This work can provide technical support and guarantee for formulating and optimizing music ICH protection strategies.

Review on Integrated On-Board Charger-Traction Systems: V2G Topologies, Control Approaches, Standards and Power Density State-of-the-Art for Electric Vehicle

This article reviews the different topologies compatible with V2G feature and control approaches of integrated onboard charger (iOBC) systems for battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The integrated topologies are presented, analyzed, and compared in terms of component count, switching frequency, total harmonic distortion (THD), charging and traction efficiencies, controllability, reliability and multifunctionality. This paper also analyzes different control approaches for charging and traction modes. Moreover, the performance indices such as setting time, rise time, overshoot, etc., are summarized for charging and traction operations. Additionally, the feasibility of a Level 3 charging (AC fast charging with 400 Vac) of up to 44 kW iOBC is discussed in terms of converter efficiencies with different switching frequencies and switch technologies such as SiC and GaN. Finally, this paper explores the power density trends of different commercial integrated charging systems. The power density trend analysis could certainly help researchers and solution engineers in the automotive industry to select the suitable converter topology to achieve the projected power density.

Developing resilient supply chains in the Southern African Development Community: Lessons from the impact of COVID-19

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on international trade and supply chains. Border closures and reduced demand for traded goods provoked demand and supply shocks in supply chains, including those of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Continued vulnerability of regional supply chains affects the long-term socio-economic development trajectory of the SADC. Objectives: This article investigates whether supply chains and their various components have exacerbated the pandemic’s trade impact, with specific reference to the SADC. The objective is to inform regional development policy interventions to improve the resilience of the SADC supply chains in future disturbances. Method: An econometric analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between supply chain efficiency (and the various sub-indicators) and the impact of the pandemic on merchandise trade volumes. The latter constitutes the dependent variable of the analysis and is quantified by measuring the deviation from the pre-shock growth path in the base year (2020) of the pandemic. Data sets from the UNCTADstat database were used. The independent variables are the sub-indicators that form part of the Logistics Performance Index (LPI), the data of which are sourced from the World Bank (2022). In addition to the chi-square test of homogeneity and the Shapiro–Wilk test of normality, regression analyses were conducted to determine the significance of the independent variables, in addition to their association and correlation with the dependent variable. Results: The analysis indicates that supply chain efficiency and components related thereto, including customs clearance, infrastructure, international shipments, logistics competence, tracking and tracing and lead time, are of high significance to and correlate with the impact of the pandemic. Conclusion: Regional development policy in the SADC should prioritise the targeted improvement of specific physical and non-physical infrastructure to support the development of efficient and resilient supply chains. Interventions should focus on improving border and customs processes and tracking and tracing capabilities of logistics service providers. This will contribute to the achievement of regional development objectives and catalyse the competitiveness of the SADC in the face of increased supply chain regionalisation.

The role of healthcare supply chain management in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic: hot off the press

Purpose>The study aims to examine the role of health-care supply chain management during the COVID-19 pandemic in a cross-section of 42 selected sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.Design/methodology/approach>The study used cross-sectional robust least square regression for parameter estimates.Findings>The results confirmed the N-shaped relationship between the health-care logistics performance index (HLPI) and COVID-19 cases. It implies that initially HLPI increases along with an increase in COVID-19 cases. Later down, it decreases COVID-19 cases by providing continued access to medical devices and personal protective equipment. Again, it increases due to resuming economic activities across countries.Practical implications>The continuing health-care supply chain is crucial to minimize COVID-19 cases. The international support from the developed world in providing health-care equipment, debt resettlement and resolving regional conflicts is deemed desirable to escape the SSA countries from the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/value>The importance of the health-care supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic is evident in the forecasting estimates, which shows that from August 2021 to April 2022, increasing the health-care supply chain at their third-degree level would reduce coronavirus registered cases. The results conclude that SSA countries required more efforts to contain coronavirus cases by thrice increasing their health-care logistics supply chain.

A Model for the Assessment of the Economic Benefits Associated with Energy Retrofit Interventions: An Application to Existing Buildings in the Italian Territory

In recent decades, the issue of existing buildings’ energy retrofit has played a central role in the context of international and national territorial development policies, mainly due to the obsolescence state that characterizes the housing stock. Since the current need for energy renovation collides with the widespread low spending capacity of the owners, in recent years numerous fiscal incentives have been envisaged, aimed at promoting building initiatives for the improvement of energy performance indices. With reference to the Italian fiscal measure so-called Superbonus, introduced by the “Relaunch” Law Decree No. 34/2020, in the present research, a model for evaluating the economic benefits, in terms of the convenience of the operators involved, generated by energy requalification interventions, has been proposed. The analysis has been developed with regards to the Italian territory and to the prevailing building typology, by considering 110 provincial capitals and the main urban areas into which each city is divided (central, semi-central, and peripheral). Specifically, for each urban area of the Italian capitals considered, the market value differential between the after energy and before energy intervention situations has been firstly determined. Furthermore, assuming an ordinary profit margin of a generic investor interested in this type of investment, the break-even incentive, i.e., the percentage threshold able to ensure the condition of minimum convenience for an investor, has been estimated for each urban area.

Effects of Air Supply Terminal Devices on the Performance of Variable Refrigerant Flow Integrated Stratum Ventilation System: An Experimental Study

A variable refrigerant flow integrated stratum ventilation (VRF-SV) system was proposed as an energy efficient substitute for conventional central cooling systems for buildings. The novel system provided conditioned air to enclosed spaces with high indoor air quality and thermal comfort. This study investigated the effects of different types of ASTDs on the performance of the VRF-SV hybrid system. The performance was experimentally evaluated with five air terminal types, including bar grille, double deflection grille, jet slot, perforated and drum louver diffusers. The evaluation was carried out using standard indices: temperature and velocity distribution, airflow pattern, effective draft temperature (EDT), air distribution performance index (ADPI), thermal sensation vote and comfort feedback survey. The results indicated that the ASTD type had a significant impact on airflow pattern. Furthermore, the bar grille diffuser provided the occupants with greater thermal comfort and acceptable indoor environment. Almost all the EDT values determined in the breathing zone in the case with bar grille diffuser found under the satisfactory range, i.e., −1.2 < K < 1.2. Based on these values, the ADPI for bar grille diffuser was calculated as 92.8%. Thus, the bar grille diffuser is recommended to be installed with the VRF-SV hybrid system in buildings.

Action for Action: Mad COVID-19, Falling Markets and Rising Volatility of SAARC Region

The Southern Region has reported a large number of contagious pandemic outbreaks. These epidemics brought threats to human health and resulted in serious economic losses. The COVID-19 is a global virus and has weakened the global financial markets with significant effect on stock returns and market volatilities. The study obtained a dataset about the financial market structure of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Countries. The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of 2019-nCov on stock market performance of SAARC member states. The study considered indexes of the National Stock Exchanges of each country and applied an event study approach for estimating the impact of Mad COVID-19 on the stock returns and market volatilities with an event window of 25 days of severe pandemic hits. The CAR approach proved the declining effect of Mad COVID-19 on the stock returns of SAARC countries. Asymmetric GJR-GARCH Model estimated the changeable volatility and proved the increase in volatility with COVID-19 as a negative shock. SAARC Region significantly reacts to Mad COVID-19 with falling markets and rising volatility.

Predicting Volatility Index According to Technical Index and Economic Indicators on the Basis of Deep Learning Algorithm

The Volatility Index (VIX) is a real-time index that has been used as the first measure to quantify market expectations for volatility, which affects the financial market as a main actor of the overall economy that is sensitive to the environmental and social aspects of investors and companies. The VIX is calculated using option prices for the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and is expressed as a percentage. Taking into account that VIX only shows the implicit volatility of the S&P 500 for the next 30 days, the authors develop a model for a near-optimal state trying to avoid uncertainty and insufficient accuracy. The researchers are trying to make a contribution to the theory of socially responsible portfolio management. The developed approach allows potential investments to make decisions regarding such important topics as ethical investing, performance analysis, as well as sustainable investment strategies. The approach of this research allows to use deep probabilistic convolutional neural networks based on conditional variance as a linear function of errors with the aim of estimating and predicting the VIX. For this purpose, the use of technical indicators and economic indexes such as Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) VIX and S&P 500 is considered. The results of estimating and predicting the VIX with the proposed method indicate high precision and create a certainty in modeling to achieve the goals.