Pricing Strategy in an Interval-Valued Production Inventory Model for High-Tech Products under Demand Disruption and Price Revision

Due to continuous development in technology, new and updated products are launching in the market more frequently in the area of some high-tech products such as smartphones, laptops, etc. It is noticed that after a certain period of releasing a new product by a particular company some other company develops a similar type of product at a lesser selling price. Customers generally become attracted to buy that updated product causing a sudden disruption in the demand for the first product. The demand for a normal product may also suddenly vanish as we have experienced during the COVID-19 lock down period. The manufacturer is then compelled to reduce the selling price to sell the remaining products. This paper aims at developing a single period production inventory model addressing this particular market condition. This paper also considers carbon emissions from different inventory processes and examines the optimal inventory policies under the cap and trade regulatory policy. Again, in a real-life production system, the various inventory cost components and the carbon emission rates from different inventory processes are not fixed always. To incorporate this issue, the proposed model considers these quantities as interval numbers. The resulting optimization problem is thus also interval-valued and has been solved by using the quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization technique. A numerical illustration is provided to validate the proposed model. Finally, a sensitivity analysis with respect to key inventory parameters is performed to derive some key managerial implications. It is found that the frequency of launching new products is inversely proportional to the optimum profit of the manufacturer. Also, a higher carbon tax rate is found to be beneficial from an environmental point of view.

Impacts and Consequences of COVID-19 Epidemic on Global Economy

Background: Since Coronavirus (COVID-19) is increasing its influence from China and spreading its reservoir to neighboring areas and other nations, expanded national and foreign efforts are being made to control this epidemic. Method(s): This review incorporated the information depicting the effect of COVID-19 on different industrial sectors. Result(s): According to the World Health Organization, the outbreak was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019 and has affected more than 17660523 people (confirmed cases) worldwide, and more than 680894 people have died. In addition to its alarming impact on human health, the novel strain of COVID-19 has dramatically slowed down not just the Chinese economy but also the world economy. The increased uncertainty has led to financial market volatility. Conclusion(s): Some firm decisions and policies must be framed out to stabilize the world economy so that threatening socio-economic impact cannot be sustained for a longer period of time for the welfare of humankind.Copyright © 2021 Bentham Science Publishers.

Outcomes of elective cancer surgery in COVID-19 survivors: An observational study

Background and Objectives: Guidelines recommend deferral of elective surgery after COVID-19. Delays in cancer surgeries may affect outcomes. We examined perioperative outcomes of elective cancer surgery in COVID-19 survivors. The primary objective was 30-day all-cause postoperative mortality. The secondary objectives were 30-day morbidity, and its association with COVID-19 severity, and duration between COVID-19 and surgery. Methods: We collected data on age, gender, comorbidities, COVID-19 severity, preoperative investigations, surgery performed, and intra and postoperative outcomes in COVID-19 survivors who underwent elective cancer surgery at a tertiary-referral cancer center. Results: Three hundred and forty-eight COVID-19 survivors presented for elective cancer surgery. Of these, 332/348 (95%) patients had mild COVID-19 and 311 (89%) patients underwent surgery. Among patients with repeat investigations, computerized tomography scan of the thorax showed the maximum new abnormalities (30/157, 19%). The 30-day all-cause mortality was 0.03% (1/311) and 30-day morbidity was 17% (54/311). On multivariable analysis, moderate versus mild COVID-19 (odds ratio [OR]: 1.95;95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.52–7.30;p = 0.32) and surgery within 7 weeks of COVID-19 (OR: 0.61;95% CI: 0.33–1.11;p = 0.10) were not associated with postoperative morbidity. Conclusions: In patients who recover from mild to moderate COVID-19, elective cancer surgery can proceed safely even within 7 weeks. Additional preoperative tests may not be indicated in these patients. © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Webinar - Is the World Experiencing Dual Pandemics: COVID and Mental Health? Let's talk Positive

Background: In partnership with the Poornima University, the Jodhpur School of Public Health conducted a participatory and live webinar on "Is the world experiencing dual pandemics-COVID and Mental Health? Let's talk positive." On 15th May 2021. Dr. Naresh Nebhinani Additional Professor, Department of Psychiatry AIIMS Jodhpur was the distinguished speaker, who along with Poornima University co-founder Mr. Rahul Singhi and other panellists from Jodhpur School of Public health addressed the topic. Finding(s): The COVID-19 pandemic and the shattering economy have resulted in a detrimental impact on many people's mental health around the globe. It has created new barriers among children, health workers, and elderly along with those who already suffer from mental illness. Every third person who was infected by COVID has shown some signs of mental health issues in one form or the other and prevalence of such disorders have increased by 35% in COVID. The role of behavioural changes towards mental health issues, along with positive attitude, better coping mechanisms, positive lifestyle changes including healthy living, sobriety, healthy eating, regular physical exercise, relaxation, spiritual practice, connectedness with family and close associates, balanced use of gadgets, proper sleep etc result in better outcomes and indicators of mental health resulting due to COVID 19 impacts could be controlled. Conclusion(s): While the health-care system fights to rescue millions of lives on a daily basis, there is a significant risk of a looming pandemic of hidden mental health conditions that might devastate the present mental-health infrastructure. We need inter-disciplinary support of various sectors to execute the plan for people's participation to talk about mental health issues. With specialized psychological interventions and multi-stakeholder collaboration, we can easily curb mental health issues and have a positive outlook in life thereby establishing a balance despite external situations. Copyright © 2023, Institute of Medico-legal Publication. All rights reserved.

Ethical issues in health care sector: Myth or Reality?

Ethics are the moral duties and responsibilities which govern a lifestyle. In medical profession being ethical is the primary demand, but at times ethical judgement and behaviour may direct towards an unprecedented decision. In these circumstances, medical professionals and health care providers take utmost care to take a diligent decision. But a conflict always exists between the professional and personal ethical values of all health care professionals and workers. At times the health care workers and professionals undergo severe mental distress and agony to respond to professional ethics. The study is conducted with the objective of reviewing ethical issues and conflict existing in the health care sector in the current scenario when the whole world is fighting to defeat the deadly virus of COVID. This paper is based on extensive literature review which includes research articles and papers apart from newspaper articles and reports. The review gave a clear picture on the ethical stature in health care sector. Further, the paper also highlights the ethical issues and conflicts of health care workers and professionals.

IMPACT OF VIRTUAL LEARNING ON PERCEIVED MENTAL HEALTH OF COLLEGE STUDENTS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The study in this article addresses three research questions: a) how do college students view the effective-ness of technology-mediated virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic;b) how does virtual learning impact their perceived mental health;and c) what is the mode of learning they most prefer? It follows an explanatory research design and survey method. Data are collected using a questionnaire with a purposive sample of 102 students and interviews with 20 students and 40 faculty members in India. The conceptual framework of this study is quite similar to the modified version of the Technology Acceptance Model (Venkatesh and Davis, 2000). The study reveals that 86% of the students find virtual learning to be ineffective. Such learning not only fails to provide adequate opportunities for experiential learning for developing knowledge, skills, and leadership abilities but also creates several perceived mental health problems. This study may help higher education institutions while designing and implementing virtual teaching-learning systems in order to prevent their negative impact on stu-dent’s perceived mental health in future crises. © 2022, Ljubljana University, Faculty of Social Sciences. All rights reserved.

Outcomes of elective cancer surgery in COVID-19 survivors: An observational study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Guidelines recommend deferral of elective surgery after COVID-19. Delays in cancer surgeries may affect outcomes. We examined perioperative outcomes of elective cancer surgery in COVID-19 survivors. The primary objective was 30-day all-cause postoperative mortality. The secondary objectives were 30-day morbidity, and its association with COVID-19 severity, and duration between COVID-19 and surgery. METHODS: We collected data on age, gender, comorbidities, COVID-19 severity, preoperative investigations, surgery performed, and intra and postoperative outcomes in COVID-19 survivors who underwent elective cancer surgery at a tertiary-referral cancer center. RESULTS: Three hundred and forty-eight COVID-19 survivors presented for elective cancer surgery. Of these, 332/348 (95%) patients had mild COVID-19 and 311 (89%) patients underwent surgery. Among patients with repeat investigations, computerized tomography scan of the thorax showed the maximum new abnormalities (30/157, 19%). The 30-day all-cause mortality was 0.03% (1/311) and 30-day morbidity was 17% (54/311). On multivariable analysis, moderate versus mild COVID-19 (odds ratio [OR]: 1.95;95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.52-7.30;p = 0.32) and surgery within 7 weeks of COVID-19 (OR: 0.61;95% CI: 0.33-1.11;p = 0.10) were not associated with postoperative morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: In patients who recover from mild to moderate COVID-19, elective cancer surgery can proceed safely even within 7 weeks. Additional preoperative tests may not be indicated in these patients.

Building IoT-Assisted Indoor Air Quality Pollution Monitoring System

Air pollution causes several diseases like suffocation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, throat infection, and so forth. So, there is a need to monitor indoor air quality for the safety of human life. Indoor air pollution is even more dangerous than outdoor air pollution. Even, after the COVID-19 pandemic, humans are spending most of their time in indoor houses. In addition to this, air pollution is increasing day by day due to varying climate changes. In view of this fact, this research wor has designed and developed a novel system based on the latest IoT technology that monitors indoor air quality and provides a web portal for data visualization. The proposed system consists of several gas sensors integrated on a single PCB that helps in reading seven pollutants like CO2, CO, O3, NO2, VOC, and Particulate Matter along with humidity and temperature. In our work, Raspberry Pi acts as a processor as well as the communicating node to the cloud. The experimental setup is deployed in several indoor places like closed labs, classrooms, homes, etc., where humans spend more time. Raspberry Pi is having an inbuilt wi-fi functionality and the real-time data is sent to Google Firebase with help of a Jio Fi router. After visualizing the data, Indoor Air Quality Index (IAQI) is measured and generates an alarm for the safety of humans when air standard crosses a marginal value. © 2022 IEEE.

A webinar training on from aids to COVID: The rocky road of public health

Background: Poornima University, in collaboration with Jodhpur School of Public Health, hosted an insightful and interactive live global webinar on the topic of “From AIDS to COVID: The Rocky road of Public Health” on August 8, 2020. Findings: This report provides information about the coronavirus, the good and bad impact of COVID-19, and some of the major challenges that were faced all across the globe. Many questions are it the origin of the virus or the route of transmission of the virus remains unclear. But the good thing is that there were many innovations in the field of testing, repurposing of drugs, and rapid development of vaccines to reduce the spread of the pandemic. Conclusion: The findings show that a lot of questions are yet to be answered and that there is a need of focusing on public health. There were many learnings from this pandemic and one of the most important lessons was that the involvement of communities is a key step to face such global challenges. The pandemic is not going anywhere soon, and therefore, it becomes necessary to bring in change and sustain it for the future. The challenges faced during this pandemic have served as valuable lessons and it is vital to focus on the shortcomings to avoid such negative impacts around the world.

Webinar training – a panel discussion on ‘hepatitis free future’ with elimination of hepatitis by 2030

Background: Poornima University, in collaboration with Jodhpur School of Public Health, hosted an insightful and interactive live global webinar on “Hepatitis Free Future” on 1st August 2020. Four speakers and six panellists addressed the current situation, preventive measures, and future directions for achieving the target of hepatitis elimination by 2030 Findings: Globally, Hepatitis B and C (HBV & HCV) accounts for 96% of all hepatitis mortality and more than 300 million people are living with viral hepatitis. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1 in 3 people worldwide has been infected with either HBV or HCV.Global uptake in childhood vaccination is significant for HBV, but the birth dose for all infants is too low (nearly 39% percent). Despite vaccination, 1.8 billion 5-year-old get infected every year with HBV.Various programs and projects are contributing to the elimination of the Hepatitis to reach the international goal. Due to COVID-19 there would be setbacks however we have all the tools within our reach and we must use them to get elimination, most importantly deliver it to the people who need it the most, if we plan to succeed by 2030. Conclusion: Hepatitis claims the lives of millions of people globally each year.With prevention, treatment, diagnostics, and vaccination hepatitis elimination is attainable. Greater investment in eliminating hepatitis will generate higher long-term returns. We have the tools, treatments, and strategies to combat this infectious disease. We need the support of various sectors to execute the plan, proper implementation of the idea, training, and awareness to the public domain. With leadership, resources, and multi-stakeholder collaboration, elimination of viral hepatitis is achievable.

A webinar training on digitally transforming the future of global public health

Background: Poornima University, in collaboration with Jodhpur School of Public Health, hosted an insightful and interactive live global webinar on the topic of “Digitally Transforming the Future of Global Public Health” on July 20, 2020. Findings: This report gives a brief awareness on the global public health transformation to digital platforms and understand the technical uses of artificial intelligence (AI). During COVID-19, use of Telemedicine has increased, as a tool that reaches patient’s home. In the current situation, where social distancing and quarantine have been adopted as effective method to reduce the spread of COVID, telemedicine and virtual software platforms gained more importance to provide health service. Conclusion: The findings show that telemedicine and virtual software will minimize emergency department visits, protect healthcare resources and reduce the spread of COVID-19 by remotely treating patients during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine has continued to increase in uptake and shows tremendous promise in expanding access to health care, promoting patient disease management, and facilitating in-between health care visit monitoring. Although the future is bright, more research is needed to determine optimal ways to integrate telemedicine, especially remote monitoringinto routine clinical care.

Mucormycosis in post covid patient-a case report

Mucormycosis is considered to be a rare notorious fungal infection mainly affecting diabetics with or without ketoacidosis & immunocompromised patients, with high mortality rate. Occurrence of Mucormycosis as an implication of Covid-19 has not yet been reported. We present a case of aggressive mucormycosis in a Post covid-19 type-2 diabetic patient and aim to illustrate the possible Covid-19 effects on body and a dire need for early diagnosis.

Preparedness for Pediatric COVID-19 Using Systems Approach: Experience of a Health Care Facility from India

A pandemic leads to disruption and stretching of an existing health care system and its resources. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) data show distinct and severe manifestations in children necessitating critical care. Children need prioritization as they are susceptible to COVID-19 as part of the family cluster, varied presentations, and mortality. The purpose of this report is to discuss the optimization of the health care system for pediatric care. The key initiatives were to identify our objectives, bring out changes to the organizational processes, and integrate the same into the existing system. A systems approach to health care delivery by optimizing infrastructure, human resources, materials, funding, leadership, and governance was undertaken. This resulted in creation of distinct COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 service areas, management protocols, and trained health care workers. Partnership was forged with the public health system. This preparedness and continued responses to the demands of the health care system helped us manage children ranging from neonates to adolescents efficiently. Though the health care system is mostly open, acting upon the modifiable factors gave better preparedness in a short time.