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This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on the Indian stock market using daily data from March 23 2020 to November 30, 2021. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bound Cointegration Test shows no long-term negative impact of the epidemic on India's NIFTY 50 index. The error correction model corrects 92% of the long-run–short-run disparity. The study's findings may help manage healthcare crisis-related measures and stock market volatility. Keywords: Stock Market, Mutual Fund, Retail Participation, COVID-19, ARDL

Long QT syndrome with Torsades de Pointes (TdP) is a life-threatening polymorphic ventricular arrhythmia. The corrected QT (QTc) prolongation >500 milliseconds (ms) has been associated with TdP. Hypocalcaemia due to severe vitamin D deficiency is an uncommon cause of acquired long QT. We hereby present a case of a 40-year-old woman with sensorineural deafness and having symptoms of palpitations and presyncope. She had a QTc interval of 556 ms (reference range, QTc 451–470 ms in adult healthy woman) on 24-hour Holter analysis. Genetic analysis for congenital long QT syndrome was negative. She was diagnosed with severe hypocalcaemia secondary to severe vitamin D deficiency. After treatment with intravenous calcium gluconate, followed by oral vitamin D and calcium supplementation, the QTc became normalised and no further episode of palpitations or presyncope occurred. The causes of vitamin D deficiency was due to inadequate exposure to sunlight and a strict vegan diet.

This paper analyses the current progression of the coronavirus pandemic, with the help of a mathematical model based on differential equations. The model has been inspired by the standard SIR (Susceptible-Infected-Recovered) model in epidemiology. The model takes the effect of co-morbidities and vaccination into account. The susceptible population is split into healthy and co-morbid sub-compartments. A series of graphs is presented for the visual depiction of the situation at hand in the Indian context. Finally, a survey (carried out through an online questionnaire) based analysis of the perception of vaccination in the masses in general, and the medical community in particular, has also been presented.

The Investors’ rationality assumption of traditional finance theories has long been contested by behavioural finance over the past few decades. Various non-financial factors, responsible for shaping investors’ behaviour, including individual personality characteristics and the social environments surrounding the decisions to be made, have emerged in recent studies. With the advancement of behavioural finance, it is important to recuperate our understanding of how an individual’s personality make-up influences her susceptibility towards behavioural biases while making investment decisions. In this study, we explore the effect of the five personality traits on select behavioural biases (overconfidence, disposition and herding) in financial decision-making. A questionnaire comprising measures of personality traits, overconfidence and herding along with demographic variables was circulated to a representative sample (n=251) of Indian investors. Our findings suggest a significant impact of personality traits on the vulnerability of individuals while making investment decisions. Extrovert investors are more balanced, not overconfident, and do not follow the herd. Openness, extroversion, and agreeableness negatively impact the susceptibility of investors towards overconfidence and herding. The results can be used by financial advisors to develop personality specific financial tools to customise to the requirements of their clients. JEL Classification Codes: D14, D90, D91, G11.

Background Among many drugs that hold potential in COVID-19 pandemic, chloroquine (CQ), and its derivative hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) have generated unusual interest. With increasing usage, there has been growing concern about the prolongation of QTc interval and Torsades de Pointes (TdP) with HCQ, especially in combination with azithromycin. Aims This meta-analysis is planned to study the risk of QTc prolongation and Torsades de pointes (TdP) by a well-defined criterion for HCQ, CQ alone, and in combination with Azithromycin in patients with COVID-19. Methods A comprehensive literature search was made in two databases (PubMed, Embase). Three outcomes explored in the included studies were frequency of QTc > 500 ms (ms) or ΔQTc > 60 ms (Outcome 1), frequency of QTc > 500 ms (Outcome 2) and frequency of TdP (Outcome 3). Random effects method with inverse variance approach was used for computation of pooled summary and risk ratio. Results A total of 13 studies comprising of 2138 patients were included in the final analysis. The pooled prevalence of outcome 1, outcome 2 and outcome 3 for HCQ, CQ with or without Azithromycin were 10.18% (5.59–17.82%, I2 – 92%), 10.22% (6.01–16.85%, I2 – 79%), and 0.72% (0.34–1.51, I2 – 0%) respectively. The prevalence of outcome 2 in subgroup analysis for HCQ and HCQ + Azithromycin was 7.25% (3.22–15.52, I2 – 59%) and 8.61% (4.52–15.79, I2 – 76%), respectively. The risk ratio (RR) for outcome 1 and outcome 2 between HCQ + Azithromycin and HCQ was 1.22 (0.77–1.93, I2 – 0%) & 1.51 (0.79–2.87, I2 – 13%), respectively and was not significant. Heterogeneity was noted statistically as well clinically (regimen types, patient numbers, study design, and outcome definition). Conclusion The use of HCQ/CQ is associated with a high prevalence of QTc prolongation. However, it is not associated with a high risk of TdP.

Background Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a major cause of morbidity in patients with cardiomyopathy. Radiofrequency ablation has emerged as the mainstay of the management of recurrent sustained VT in these patients. We describe the clinical characteristics, procedural and medium term outcomes of patients undergoing ablation of scar VT in a tertiary care center in India. Methods This was a single-center descriptive cohort study. All patients who underwent ablation for scar related VT were included. Endpoints were immediate procedural success, procedural complications and recurrence during follow up. Results A total of 72 patients with scar VT underwent ablation with electroanatomic mapping. Previous myocardial infarction (MI) was the commonest etiology (69.4%) with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) being the next common (19.4%). Acute procedural success was achieved in 69.4% patients, partial success in 9.7% and failure in 1 patient (1.4%). Outcome was labeled indeterminate in 19.4% who did not undergo post ablation VT induction. Procedural complications were seen in 4%. Follow up data was available in 95% of the patients with a mean follow up of 28.9 ± 22.8 months. At one year, freedom from VT was 83.8% and mortality was 13.2%. Overall mortality during follow up was 22.1% while VT recurrence was seen in 35.3%. Recurrence rate was higher in ARVC as compared to previous MI. Conclusions Ablation of scar VT has high acute success rates. Ablation is safe with low risk of major complications. Rates of recurrence are higher in patients with ARVC as compared to post MI VT.

Marker assisted backcross breeding was used to transfer Saltol, a major QTL for seedling stage salinity tolerance from the donor FL478 to Pusa Basmati 1509 (PB 1509), a high yielding and early maturing Basmati rice variety. Foreground selection was carried out using three markers namely, AP3206f, RM3412b and RM10793, linked to Saltol. In addition, 105 genome-wide SSR markers polymorphic between FL478 and PB 1509 were used in background selection. Among the BC3F4 near isogenic lines (NILs) developed, recurrent parent genome recovery ranged from 96.67 to 98.57%. Multi-season evaluation identified some of the NILs showing significantly higher yield with grain and cooking quality comparable to PB 1509. All the NILs exhibited tolerance to salinity with significantly higher relative water content, membrane stability index and proline content as compared to PB 1509. The root and shoot concentration of Na+, K+ and Na+/K+ in NILs was at par with FL478 under stress conditions. The gene OsHKT1;5 located in the Saltol region showed higher expression levels under stress indicating its role in conferring salinity tolerance. Salt tolerant NILs of PB 1509 will be useful in stabilizing production in salt affected areas.

The effective degradation of KL from paper mill effluent is an important for environmental safety. This research is primarily concerned with the identification of KL-degrading Bacillus cereus from activated sludge and their possible use for the degradation of Kraft lignin (KL). This strain was involved in the production of lignin peroxidase-LiP (3.20 U/mL), manganese peroxidase-MnP (20.36 U/mL), and laccase (21.35 U/mL) enzymes, which were responsible for high KL degradation (89%) and decolorization (40%) at 1000 mg/L KL in 3 days. The SEM-EDS, UV-Vis, FTIR, and GC-MS analysis were used to analyze the bacterial cell and KL interactions to trace the KL degradation process. The significant reduction of pollutants (KL-72.5%, color-62.0%, COD-45.05%) and reduction in toxicity (80%) of bacterial-treated effluent indicated that B. cereus has the potential to be used in the degradation of pollutants from paper mill effluents.

Immunization is expected to confer protection against infection and severe disease for vaccines while reducing risks to unimmunized populations by inhibiting transmission. Here, based on serial serological studies of an observational cohort of healthcare workers, we show that during a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome -Coronavirus 2 Delta-variant outbreak in Delhi, 25.3% (95% Confidence Interval 16.9-35.2) of previously uninfected, ChAdOx1-nCoV19 double vaccinated, healthcare workers were infected within less than two months, based on serology. Induction of anti-spike response was similar between groups with breakthrough infection (541 U/ml, Inter Quartile Range 374) and without (342 U/ml, Inter Quartile Range 497), as was the induction of neutralization activity to wildtype. This was not vaccine failure since vaccine effectiveness estimate based on infection rates in an unvaccinated cohort were about 70% and most infections were asymptomatic. We find that while ChAdOx1-nCoV19 vaccination remains effective in preventing severe infections, it is unlikely to be completely able to block transmission and provide herd immunity.

The designing of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller is an integral part of the PV array system to ensure a continuous supply of energy in dynamic environmental conditions. The most challenging part here is to design a model that can track the maximum point irrespective of variations in environmental conditions and its parametric variations. The model designed in this article combats both the challenges as it is based on reinforcement learning with fractional-order. The application of Deep Q-learning makes the model parametric free and once the model trained can be implanted in a different scenario and run effectively. The amalgamation of fractional-order aids in the process by reducing the tracking time, oscillation around the peak, and total harmonic distortions. The model is well tested on standard conditions and has successfully achieved the desired results. Also, the proposed design is compared against various existing comparative algorithms to showcase its effectiveness in tracking time, THD, and maximum power. The design is also tested on the real data set, from the solcast where the test region is New Delhi, the capital of India. This region is taken as it faces one of extreme climatic condition and also being the second-highest most populated state faces an acute shortage of power throughout the year. The results have demonstrated that the model can produce maximum power even in the least solar irradiance conditions.

Owing to the dynamic requirements of today’s teaching–learning environment, teachers’ training has emerged as an important policy question. The Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching is an important step taken by the Ministry of Education, Government of India in this direction. The current study seeks to analyse the interactions among different aspects of Faculty Development Programmes and the overall outcomes. Using data ( n = 375) from programmes conducted under the mission, the study employs structure equation modelling to find that relevance has a positive effect on the change in attitude, which subsequently has a positive effect on the satisfaction of the trainees. Satisfaction further positively affects the change in confidence of the trainees. However, once this positive effect is controlled for, satisfaction and change in confidence correlate negatively. The estimation of the structural relationships is a novelty of this study, paving the way for further exploration.

The recent outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19, primarily involves the respiratory system with viral pneumonia as a predominant manifestation. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 has various cardiovascular manifestations which increase morbidity and mortality in COVID-19. Patients with underlying cardiovascular diseases and conventional cardiovascular risk factors are predisposed for COVID-19 with worse prognosis. The possible mechanisms of cardiovascular injury are endothelial dysfunction, diffuse microangiopathy with thrombosis and increased angiotensin II levels. Hyperinflammation in the myocardium can result in acute coronary syndrome, myocarditis, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death. The high level of cardiac troponins and natriuretic peptides in the early course of COVID-19 reflects an acute myocardial injury. The complex association between COVID-19 and cardiovascular manifestations requires an in-depth understanding for appropriate management of these patients. Till the time a specific antiviral drug is available for COVID-19, treatment remains symptomatic. This review provides information on the cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular manifestations of COVID-19.

Immunization is expected to confer protection against infection and severe disease for vaccinees, while reducing risks to unimmunized populations by inhibiting transmission. Here, based on serial serological studies, we show that during a severe SARS-CoV2 Delta-variant outbreak in Delhi, 25.3% (95% CI 16.9 - 35.2) of previously uninfected, ChAdOx1-nCoV19 double vaccinated, healthcare-workers (HCW) were infected within a period of less than two months, based on serology. Induction of anti-spike response was similar between groups with breakthrough infection (541 U/ml, IQR 374) or not (342 U/ml, IQR 497), as was induction of neutralization activity to wildtype. Most infections were unrecognized. The Delta-variant thus causes frequent unrecognized breakthrough infections in adequately immunized subjects, reducing any herd-effect of immunity, and requiring reinstatement of preventive measures such as masking.

India, a growing economy, is now seen as potential market as well as a hub for outsourcing talent and services, thereby increasing a large employee base. Despite this increased influx, there has been a growing negligence relating to the workplace stress induced by monotonous work schedule, insufficient physical activity, mental work-overload and inefficient workplace design. Increased working hours might also exceed the time spent outdoors, exposing employees to degraded indoor air quality conditions for a greater duration of time. The aim of this study is to carry out extensive review of these factors and propose a model for nullifying them to create an improved ideal workplace. This study employed extensive review of literature in the related area, interviews with the employees and survey to collect the statistical data. Various factors were identified and analysed that affected human productivity in stress-oriented workplaces. The major factors include indoor air quality (IAQ), workplace environment and workplace stress. The main impact of these factors and parameters associated with them was found on the metabolism of the workers which substantially affected their efficiency. Other findings and conclusion of the study together with the scope for future research were discussed at the end of the paper.

Biofilm-forming bacteria play a key role in the removal of heavy metals including hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] from contaminated sites. In this study, biofilm-forming B. haynesii was examined for extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production and hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] reduction potential. Exposure of B. haynesii with Cr(VI) (12.5-100 mg L

Background Direct-seeded rice (DSR) is a potential technology for sustainable rice farming as it saves water and labor. However, higher incidence of weed under DSR limits productivity. Therefore, there is a need to develop herbicide tolerant (HT) rice varieties. Results We used marker assisted backcross breeding (MABB) to transfer a mutant allele of Acetohydroxy acid synthase (AHAS) gene, which confers tolerance to imidazolinone group of herbicides from the donor parent (DP) “Robin” into the genetic background of an elite popular Basmati rice variety, Pusa Basmati 1121 (PB 1121). Foreground selection was done using the AHAS gene linked Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) marker RM6844 and background selection was performed using 112 genome-wide SSR markers polymorphic between PB 1121 and Robin. Phenotypic selection for agronomic, Basmati grain and cooking quality traits in each generation was carried out to improve the recovery of recurrent parent phenome (RPP). Finally, a set of 12 BC4F4 near isogenic lines (NILs), with recurrent parent genome (RPG) recovery ranging from 98.66 to 99.55% were developed and evaluated. PB 1121-HT NILs namely 1979-14-7-33-99-10, 1979-14-7-33-99-15 and 1979-14-7-33-99-66 were found superior to PB 1121 in yield with comparable grain and cooking quality traits and herbicide tolerance similar to Robin. Conclusion Overall, the present study reports successful development of HT NILs in the genetic background of popular Basmati rice variety, PB 1121 by introgression of mutated AHAS allele. This is the first report on the development of HT Basmati rice. Superior NILs are being evaluated in the national Basmati trials, the release of which is likely to provide a viable option for the adoption of DSR technology in Basmati rice cultivation.