Vaccination, the only weapon against COVID-19, for the nonce

Epidemics of infectious diseases have always been well documented throughout the human history, particularly by ancient Egypt and Greece and for diseases like smallpox, leprosy, tuberculosis, meningococcal infections and diphtheria. Since the ancient times, the morbidity and mortality of these infectious diseases has profoundly shaped the politics, commerce, culture and social structure of different eras in epidemics. (1) With the beginning of 2020, world has encountered a new challenge, with the name of Covid-19. Commencing from Wuhan city of China, this disease spread like wildfire within a matter of next few months, with a rising death toll and serious consequences on the entire globe. The impact of COVID-19 on the population was no less than terror and shock. Since COVID-19 disease kept on spreading via aerosol and droplet infections, World Health Organization (WHO) declared emergency and along with other health agencies emphasized on respiratory hygiene i.e. covering the nose and mouth with a mask and using cough etiquettes in addition to standard precautionary measures. Social distancing was emphasized. Different rapid treatment guidelines were developed and practiced across the globe, with no definitive management guaranteeing the recovery cent per cent. Where a number of interventions were being tried and tested, attention was diverted towards vaccination since it had always been contemplated to be the integral in control of many infectious diseases.(2) Vaccination is envisaged as one of the most effective public health interventions for preventing and saving lives of from different infectious diseases and promoting good health. Hence scientists from all over the world got involved in rapid and expeditious development of vaccines against this novel disease

The commercialisation of BDS through an NGO: case study of AKRSP-Pakistan

Book ChapterBased on the theme of how donors can play a more effective role to stimulate effective and sustainable provision of BDS by or through private sector intermediaries, this case study looks at how the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) has sought to encourage the development of markets for Business Development Services (BDS) in the remote areas of northern Pakistan. This paper explores that the isolation of the region, poor infrastructure, small scale of landholdings, and lack of economic development leads to problems when attempting to promote markets for business development services. In the short term, the priority is the development of more basic markets, rather than markets for business development services. Without active markets there are a few opportunities for BDS provision let alone the development of vibrant private sector markets for BDS. It specifies the geographic, economic, political, and institutional context in which the AKRSP’s interventions have been implemented. Grassroots village based initiatives have been discussed, where groups of farmers are facilitated by AKRSP to provide BDS to neighboring farmers (farmers interest groups in Chitral), along with more structured formal approaches such as the more direct provision of BDS through commercial entity associated with AKRSP (North South Seeds). It is argued that both models have a positive impact on MSME performance and lead to market development in the long run. Both are methods through which donors can promote BDS markets but which model is most appropriate depends on the market being served. Where the service offered is relatively simple and the business of the BDS provider is relatively straight-forward, facilitating private sector intermediaries may be the most effective way of creating markets for BDS. However, where the service is complex and there is a need to establish a sophisticated organisation to provide the service, it may be necessary to set up an organisation within the NGO, on commercially sustainable basis if possible, with a view to fully commercialising and ideally privatising the organisation over time

DOES BRAND EXTENSION IMPACT PARENT BRAND: A CASE OF JOHNSON, UK

Purpose of study: The main purpose of this study is to check the impact of brand extensions on brand image. For this purpose Johnson is selected as parent brand for current research. The targeted brand extensions are Johnson shampoo, Johnson’s isotonic drinks, Johnson’s sports wear and Johnson’s suntan lotion. Research Methodology: sample was selected from Bradford, UK. Sample consists of graduate students including males as well as female. Total sample size is 60 and data was collected through self administered questionnaires. For each brand 15 respondents were selected. Convenient sampling was selected as sampling technique. Results: Results show that Johnson’s have high brand awareness and perceived quality. While there is negative correlation results for brand fit on brand image for those product extensions which are not in same brand category i.e. Johnson’s sportswear and Johnson’s isotonic drinks. Conclusion: It is concluded from study results that launching new product in same parent brand category have high chance of success while in different category is risk.Brand Extension, Brand Fit, Johnson, Product extensions, marketing.

E-BANKING: A CASE STUDY OF ASKARI COMMERCIAL BANK PAKISTAN

This paper has covered the operational issues related to e-banking as well as customer’s perception on usage of e-banking a case study of Askari Bank, Pakistan. 40 staff members and four customers are selected as sample for this study. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used to present the results. Descriptive statistics is applied to describe the demographic variables while for operational problems correlation was used. Finally cross case analysis present customers’ perception about e-banking practices. Analysis shows that customer is not ready to adopt new technology that why their satisfaction level with e-banking is low. Internet speed and government policies are not supportive for e-banking in Pakistan. Due to lack of trust on technology and low computer literacy rate, customer hesitates to adopt new technology. : In order to promote IT culture in Pakistan, government has to reduce the internet rate. to promote the benefits of e-banking on media so that more user get facilitated from e-banking services.E-banking, Internet, ATM, Online transaction, E-readiness, Technology Acceptance Models

Optimization Techniques for Miniaturized Integrated Electrochemical Sensors

Electrochemical sensors are integral components of various integrated sensing applications. In this work, we provide details of optimizing electrochemical sensors for CMOS compatible integrated designs at sub-mm size scales. The focus is on optimization of electrode materials and geometry. We provide design details for both working electrode and reference electrode materials for hydrogen peroxide sensing applications which form the basis for many metabolic sensors. We also present results on geometrical variations in designing such sensors and demonstrate that such considerations are very relevant for optimizing the overall sensor performance. We also present results for such optimized sensors on actual CMOS platforms. The methods presented in this work can be adopted for countless applications of electrochemical sensing platforms

Silicon-on-insulator-based complementary metal oxide semiconductor integrated optoelectronic platform for biomedical applications

Microscale optical devices enabled by wireless power harvesting and telemetry facilitate manipulation and testing of localized biological environments (e.g., neural recording and stimulation, targeted delivery to cancer cells). Design of integrated microsystems utilizing optical power harvesting and telemetry will enable complex in vivo applications like actuating a single nerve, without the difficult requirement of extreme optical focusing or use of nanoparticles. Silicon-on-insulator (SOI)-based platforms provide a very powerful architecture for such miniaturized platforms as these can be used to fabricate both optoelectronic and microelectronic devices on the same substrate. Near-infrared biomedical optics can be effectively utilized for optical power harvesting to generate optimal results compared with other methods (e.g., RF and acoustic) at submillimeter size scales intended for such designs. We present design and integration techniques of optical power harvesting structures with complementary metal oxide semiconductor platforms using SOI technologies along with monolithically integrated electronics. Such platforms can become the basis of optoelectronic biomedical systems including implants and lab-on-chip systems

Effectiveness of Ivermectin among COVID-19 patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of Ivermectin among COVID-19 patients in terms of mortality and biochemical / hematological attributes. Materials and Methods:  A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) was carried out in Department of Infectious Diseases (DID) of Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi during March 2021 through concurrent parallel study design. Apart from seeking Ethical approval for this research, DID was also licensed from Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) for this trial. Total 90 PCR positive COVID-19 patients were enrolled in this study via 1:1 randomization in experimental and control group without blinding. The control group received Standard of Care (SOC) starting from day 1 while experimental group was given SOC along with Ivermectin (200µg/kg) for 5 days. Study participants were assessed on day 0, 4, 7 and 10 for general symptoms through physical examination, blood oxygen saturation and diverse hematological and biochemical indicators in addition to adverse events. Data analysis was done by means of SPSS version 25.0. and Microsoft Excel 2010. Mean ± SD for age, length of hospital stay and time to PCR negativity were calculated. Independent sample t-test was applied to determine the mean difference in age, duration of hospital stay, time to PCR negativity, SpO2, oxygen supply, serum Hemoglobin, TLC, platelet count, Clinical Severity Score (CSS), urea and creatinine levels of both groups. The difference in secondary outcome (expiry / discharge) of both groups was compared by means of chi-square test. P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. 95% Confidence Interval was also computed. Relative Risk (RR) was also measured to verify the effectiveness of Ivermectin in COVID patients Results: Males constituted the majority (56.7%) of our study participants. Statistically insignificant difference in mean age (P = 0.42) and mean length of hospital stay (P= 0.32) between experimental and control group subjects was observed. Mean time to PCR negativity was reported to be significantly less (P= 0.002) in experimental group. Significant improvement was seen in PCR negativity (P<0.05), mean Clinical Severity Score (CSS) (P0.02), mean hemoglobin level (P=0.03) and mean platelet count (P=0.03). Difference in health outcome of both groups was determined to be statistically insignificant (P<0.2, 95% CI (-0.20 – 0.12)). Relative Risk of 0.8 proved the protective effect of Ivermectin in COVID. Conclusion: Ivermectin was quite effective in reducing mortality and improving the health outcome in COVID-19 patients

Effectiveness of Ivermectin among COVID-19 patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of Ivermectin among COVID-19 patients in terms of mortality and biochemical / hematological attributes. Materials and Methods:  A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) was carried out in Department of Infectious Diseases (DID) of Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi during March 2021 through concurrent parallel study design. Apart from seeking Ethical approval for this research, DID was also licensed from Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) for this trial. Total 90 PCR positive COVID-19 patients were enrolled in this study via 1:1 randomization in experimental and control group without blinding. The control group received Standard of Care (SOC) starting from day 1 while experimental group was given SOC along with Ivermectin (200µg/kg) for 5 days. Study participants were assessed on day 0, 4, 7 and 10 for general symptoms through physical examination, blood oxygen saturation and diverse hematological and biochemical indicators in addition to adverse events. Data analysis was done by means of SPSS version 25.0. and Microsoft Excel 2010. Mean ± SD for age, length of hospital stay and time to PCR negativity were calculated. Independent sample t-test was applied to determine the mean difference in age, duration of hospital stay, time to PCR negativity, SpO2, oxygen supply, serum Hemoglobin, TLC, platelet count, Clinical Severity Score (CSS), urea and creatinine levels of both groups. The difference in secondary outcome (expiry / discharge) of both groups was compared by means of chi-square test. P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. 95% Confidence Interval was also computed. Relative Risk (RR) was also measured to verify the effectiveness of Ivermectin in COVID patients Results: Males constituted the majority (56.7%) of our study participants. Statistically insignificant difference in mean age (P = 0.42) and mean length of hospital stay (P= 0.32) between experimental and control group subjects was observed. Mean time to PCR negativity was reported to be significantly less (P= 0.002) in experimental group. Significant improvement was seen in PCR negativity (P<0.05), mean Clinical Severity Score (CSS) (P0.02), mean hemoglobin level (P=0.03) and mean platelet count (P=0.03). Difference in health outcome of both groups was determined to be statistically insignificant (P<0.2, 95% CI (-0.20 – 0.12)). Relative Risk of 0.8 proved the protective effect of Ivermectin in COVID. Conclusion: Ivermectin was quite effective in reducing mortality and improving the health outcome in COVID-19 patients