Pre and Present COVID-19 Situation: A Framework of Educational Transformation in South Asia Region

This study is designed to support the development of strategies to recover from the disrupted impact of COVID-19 on HE institutes of the South Asian Region (SAR), as the nations in this region are severely cursed by poverty and unemployment. During the unusual phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the face-to-face learning method is no longer appropriate, and the crisis leads to force on distance learning instead of physical learning. Like all other educational institutions, HE institutions are also in big trouble. Changes in educational structure change the pattern of academic work, which may have an inverse impact on acquiring knowledge and improving skills. Not only students but also a greater number of teachers at the HE institutions required to continue their service through online during this closure period. However, well digital infrastructure and digital contents appear to be the prime requirements for this educational transmission, which are extensively accessible in SAR countries. By following a mixed-methods strategy, the study specifically examines the impact of the pandemic on higher education in the South Asian Region, with an emphasis on the impact on learners, educators, and institutions, and to identify the measures that have been taken by these countries to survive and continue the education system with all the obstacles of the crisis. It concludes with some vital suggestions that may be applied to mitigate the crisis moment and assist in moving forward with more technological advancements for a new future. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-SPER-06 Full Text: PD

Poster- A Visual Stimulus for Active Learning

This paper explores the effect of using poster making inlanguage class, relatively a new concept in the field of languageteaching and learning in the context of Bangladesh. This studywas conducted in tertiary level and the participants had almostsame level of proficiency – intermediate level attending onelanguage course – foundation course in English. In this particularcourse, students got exposure to different activities, and postermaking is one of them. Since language teaching and learning is adynamic field, it requires constant innovation and research onthe contemporary practices in the class and this has made thispaper more of learning from experiences. The specific postermaking activity is in fact a tool for alternative assessment for thestudents in the speaking class thus makes it an action research.To conduct this research one questionnaire was given to thestudents after they presented their poster and later on a set ofquestions was given to the teachers to get the feedback on thatparticular task. Thus both quantitative and qualitative researchmethod was used to get more in-depth comprehensive result.Students could visualize and understand their own progress interms of language use and creativity. The paper aims to see howposter making task transforms a student’s performance over aweek and makes them confident ESL speakers as it works as acatalyst to invigorate the language learning process

A REFLECTION OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE TOURISM SECTOR IN BANGLADESH: FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS

Bangladesh has been experiencing the tourism industry as one of the most potential sectors proving a great contribution to the economy in recent years. However, at the beginning of 2020, this sector has transformed reversely by the consequences of the outbreak of COVID-19. Continuous restrictions on movement in domestic and international borders make the tourism sector employees jobless and generate fewer turnovers. This research attempts to quantify the adverse effect of COVID-19 on the tourism sector as well as the country's economy, spheres of tourism and business and suggests some short-term and long-term approaches to recover the situation. The study draws a contrast between past and present year trends, from where we may get vigorous and prevailing information about the pandemic significance and may contribute to initiating and implementing some suitable tactics for retrieval from the state in further heightening the tourism industry. This study may aid in the better understanding and identification of the demands of the general public in terms of tourism by the relevant authorities in the tourist sector. This will also assist in developing the potential of domestic tourism and preparing the tourism sites in Bangladesh for the post-pandemic phase by implementing appropriate measures in the short term

Molecular docking and dynamics simulation study of medicinal fungi derived secondary metabolites as potential inhibitor for COVID-19 treatment

The severity of COVID-19, lack of specific treatment, and controversies on the vaccine's efficacy demand the development of new drugs against SARS-CoV-2. Fungi produce various metabolites with diverse molecular structures that have emerged as promising antiviral drug candidates. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate medicinal fungi derived secondary metabolites as potential inhibitors of 3 different targets associated with viral entry (human TMPRSS2) and replication (main and papain-like protease) through molecular docking and dynamic simulation studies. Based on our findings, we identified Phelligridin E, Lepiotaprocerine G, and Inoscavin A as the potential blockers of SARS-CoV-2 main protease, papain-like protease, and human TMPRSS2, respectively. These compounds strongly interacted with their corresponding target, passed Lipinski Rule's and had acceptable ADMET properties. Drug-protein complexes showed good stability during MD simulation. Estimation of binding free energy using the MM-GBSA method validated the inhibitor potential of identified compounds. Taken together, we believe that further in vitro and in vivo investigations on our proposed molecules may contribute to expanding the therapeutic arsenal in our fight against COVID-19