Articles

Scoping Review on Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Physical Activity in Older Adults

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Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID -19) is highly contagious disease caused by a new corona virus that first appeared in Wuhan, China and was dubbed SARS-CoV-2. Physical activity lowers the risk of numerous chronic diseases and extends life expectancy. The number of older persons suffering from mental illnesses has risen dramatically in recent years around the world. Depression and anxiety are common mental disorders among older persons, and because of their serious implications, they should be considered a public health issue. Physically active lifestyle can help them cope with the psychological stress and drastic lifestyle changes that come with social isolation. The perceived comfort and attractiveness of environmental settings appear to play another important role for older persons in terms of their sense of security towards their own body and the environment. As we all know, a variety of factors such as environmental and social factors can have an impact on the physical and psychological health of the elderly, causing anxiety, depression, and loneliness. In order to overcome these symptoms, physical activity plays a critical role.

Stressors among Healthcare Workers during Covid-19 Era at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital Awka Anambra State Nigeria

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The research on stress, its effect, sources and management cannot be over emphasized. The purpose of the study is to determine the stressors among healthcare workers at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Awka. Six research questions were posited and four hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The cross sectional survey research design was used for the study. The multi stage sampling technique was used to draw a sample of 267 out of 772 Healthcare workers (HCWs). The instrument for data collection was a researcher’s designed questionnaire. The instrument was subjected to reliability test using the pilot test method. The data collected were analyzed using frequency and percentages for research questions (1-6) while the null hypotheses were tested using Chi – square statistics. The result revealed ten  stressors to healthcare workers during covid-19 era which were demanding workload which was endorsed by 96.2% of the respondents, Time pressure (84.5%), sleep deprivation (66.8%), role ambiguity and conflicts (54.3%), home/work interconnection (71.3%), emotional exhaustion (87.5%), limited break periods (78.5), fear of exposure to infection (95.8%), physical and psychological abuse (56.2%), and concerns about children not being taken care of properly when you are away (60.8%). Based on the findings and conclusions, the researcher recommended among other things that the demanding workload of the healthcare professionals can be reduced by employing more workers hereby reducing stress. Also, Annual leave, maternity leave, casual leave and break periods amidst work, etc should not be denied any job category in the healthcare system to avoid break down in health of the HCWs.

Pedagogical Challenges and Opportunities during Covid-19 Pandemic: Perspectives from the Pre-Service and High School Teachers

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This study aimed to determine the pedagogical challenges and opportunities of the Pre-Service and high school teachers in the new normal education.  The sample size was determined using the slovins formula and 13 pre-service teachers, and 26 High School Teachers were the participants. Descriptive and inferential were used. Findings revealed that most of the respondents were 21-26 years old, female, high school teachers, and situated mostly in urban areas. The conduct of online classes was the major challenge faced by both pre-service and high school teachers for they used to conduct classroom teaching for many years. The online teaching-learning modality was successfully implemented to practice teaching as a mission to facilitate students learning through various online strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Age, sex, type of respondents, and locality did not show a significant degree of variance in the extent of the pedagogical challenges and opportunities they encountered. The locality has a significant degree of variance in terms of teaching-learning engagement and opportunities for teaching-learning platforms. Hence, seminars and workshops on online pedagogies and online assessment tools strategies to facilitate online teaching more engaging was recommended.

A Survey on the Perceived Impact of the COVID 19 Pandemic on Dental Undergraduate Students in the North Gujarat Region, India

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Aim: This study aimed to assess and compare the perceived impact of covid 19 pandemic on dental undergraduate students in the north Gujarat region.

Objective: To assess & compare the percentage difference in impact of covid 19 on dental undergraduate students based on their academic year.

Material and method: This questionnaire study utilized a validated 28 questions survey. The questionnaire distributed to 200 dental undergraduate students. The questions were divided into categories : demographic and academic information, study career, knowledge about covid 19 infection, risk perception and psychological reactions. The survey was administered through online google form and all the responses kept confidential. The impact of covid 19 on students were recorded.

Result: The questionnaire was completed by 160 students (80%). Responses were from all the academic years in which majority of respondents were interns. Most of the students experienced difficulties in clinical training during and post COVID-19 emergency due to lack of patients’ OPD and reduced training hours. For over half of them online teaching could  replace traditional face-to-face lessons. The negative impact on the study career was particularly high by interns. The level of concern of contracting COVID-19 during clinical activities were higher among students. Most of the students showed symptoms related to high to moderate levels of fear and anxiety. Conclusion: The data showed that the students perceived the COVID-19 pandemic as a negative impact on their study career and their future practice with higher impact on interns compared to other years. Most of the students showed  high to moderate levels of fear and anxiety related to effect of pandemic on their study career. This data could help universities to implement communication modalities to reduce students’ fear and anxiety.

Post COVID-19 Optimal Capital Structure for Indonesian Retail Company

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The COVID-19 pandemic that occurs in the world has a negative impact on the economy and makes various businesses make adjustments to their business. This also has an impact on PT MDS. By the end of 2021, economic conditions have improved and businesses are preparing to re-develop their businesses. PT MDS, which had previously closed several of its outlets, is preparing to reopen 12-15 outlets per year. The opening of new outlets carried out by the company is aimed at developing the business. However, the company also wants its implementation to continue to optimize the company’s efficiency. The way that can be taken in achieving optimization of company efficiency is through an optimal capital structure. To obtain the optimal value of the capital structure, this research conducts a scenario formation based on the company’s historical parameters. From the formation of the scenario, 3 scenarios can be formed, namely best-scenario, base-scenario and worst-scenario. The result of the analysis of the company’s optimal capital structure at base scenario is 85%, higher than the actual at 73.4%. Meanwhile, in best and worst scenario, the company’s optimal capital structure is at a lower and higher than actual condition. To achieve the optimal capital structure, companies need to increase their debt ratio. Using the Aswath Damodaran framework, it was found that the step the company needs to take is to carry out the project of opening 12-15 stores using new long-term debts.

Validity and Reliability of the Health Belief Questionnaire Model for Mental Health Behavior COVID-19 Survivor

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Background: Research using the Health Belief Model (HBM) is expected to be able to determine a determinant model of mental health behavior for Covid-19 survivors. The focus of HBM is Health Promotion at the individual level by looking at the protective and risk factors that are responsible for a person’s behavioral resistance. Until now there is no instrument that measures individual attitudes and beliefs based on the HBM for the mental health behavior of Covid-19 Survivors.

Method: To assess the validity and reliability of the Health Belief Model Questionnaire for Mental Health Behavior for COVID-19 Survivors. This study is an observational study with a cross sectional approach that presents the results of the validity and reliability of the Health Belief Model Questionnaire instrument for Mental Health Behavior for COVID-19 Survivors. The questionnaire was compiled as many as 16 statement items based on a literature review. The questionnaire consists of Perceptions of Seriousness, Perceptions of Vulnerability, Perceptions of Benefits, Perceptions of Barriers with 4 question items each. The sample size is 64 people. The validity test uses the Pearson Product Moment Correlation formula with a coefficient value of 0.3, while the reliability test uses internal consistency with Cronbach’s Alpha with a coefficient value of 0.7.

Results: The results of the descriptive analysis showed that the average age of Covid survivors was 18-40 years (78.1%), female (79.7%), undergraduate education level (75%), affected in wave II (54.7%) ). The results of the validity test of the 16 items contained 1 invalid item (perception of barriers), while the reliability test showed that of the 15 valid items the results were all reliable.

Conclusion: Overall, the HBM questionnaire is valid and reliable to measure mental health behavior in COVID-19 survivors.

Cytomorphometric Changes of Buccal Exfoliated Pap Stained Smears among COVID-19 Recovered Patients; Sudan 2022

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Introduction: COVID-19 is known to cause various changes in oral mucosa which can be detected by exfoliative cytology. The present study aimed to determine the cytomorphometric change of oral mucosa exfoliated Pap-stained smears for COVID-19 recovered patients at Khartoum state 2022.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional comparative, community-based study conducted at Khartoum State. Eighty (80) participants who recovered from COVID-19 enrolled in the study as cases and twenty (20) healthy participants as the control group.

Results: In the present study the ages of the participants ranged between 19-75 years. Mean was significantly different in cytoplasm diameter (CD), nucleus diameter (ND), and nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio (N/CR) between the patients who recovered from COVID-19 versus the healthy group (69.71μm versus 37.45μm, P. value= 0.001; 10.02μm versus 6.05μm, P. value= 001; and 28.9 μm versus 18.0μm, P. value= 0.016) respectively.

Conclusion: The marked changes in cytomorphometric parameters caused by infection with COVID-19 prove that infection with the virus causes changes in the buccal mucosa.

These findings will help in the screening and diagnosis of the disease.

The Impact of Spiritual, Social, And Emotional Intelligence on the Performance of SMEs in the Covid-19 Pandemic

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Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are an important part of the economic system in Indonesia, this can be seen from the number compared to large-scale industrial enterprises. SMEs in their position have advantages compared to large-scale businesses, one of the advantages is being able to absorb more labor and accelerate the process of equitable development. However, currently, SMEs are experiencing problems in achieving better performance. These obstacles do not only come from within the SMEs organization but also from outside. Internal factors are factors that come from the work environment such as organizational culture, attitudes, and actions of colleagues as well as the organizational structure of the SMEs. Internal factors include intelligence it has, there are several bits of intelligence in humans, including emotional intelligence, social intelligence, and spiritual intelligence. Therefore, this study aims to determine the effect of spiritual intelligence, social intelligence, and emotional intelligence on SMEs actors during the Covid-19 period. This research is a quantitative study with a population of small and medium enterprises. The sampling method is purposive sampling, which was conducted using 90 samples. The approach of data analysis with multiple linear regression. The tool used is a regression with IBM SPSS 25 software. The results showed that spiritual intelligence, social intelligence, and emotional intelligence affected the performance of SMEs during the Covid-19 period.

Formulation of Compressed Lozenges from Decaffeinated Arabica Green Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) Bean Extract as Immune Booster

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Global public health issues include emerging and reemerging viruses. The most recent cause of COVID-19 is the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The main goal of current medical research is the creation of new, affordable, and effective anti-COVID-19 medications. The immune system regulates coronavirus infection in the human body. The current study explores the relationship between antioxidants and the immune system’s ability to fight off infections and the pathogenicity of the coronavirus. Arabica coffee contains chlorogenic acid, which is efficacious as a contributor to antioxidant and antiviral activity. But arabica coffee also contains caffeine, which can cause ulcers in people who do decaffeination using dichloromethane solvent to reduce levels of caffeine. The objective of this study is to create Arabica coffee seed extract compressed lozenges as an antioxidant to boost the immune system. Arabica coffee extraction is done by Soxhletasi. Formulation lozenges are made in three formulas with varying types of flavorings: F1 (strawberry), F2 (tiramisu), and F3 (vanilla). Lozenges were analyzed using HPLC with pretreatment SPE to see the effect of the formulation on the content of caffeine and chlorogenic acid. F1 caffeine content 1.324%, 4.484% F2, F3 0.134. F1 chlorogenic acid content 2.996%, 2.834% F2, F3 4.530% .The result of the granules and lozenges evaluation is required for the granules and lozenges requirements. As a result of hedonic stimulation, the respondent can receive a taste of lozenges. Formula lozenges which most preferred is the formula F1 with strawberries creamer diluent with caffeine content of 1.324% and chlorogenic acid content of 2.996%. The conclusion of this study is that green coffee bean extract can be made into lozenges, and caffeine levels in coffee can be reduced by decaffeination. but the level of chlorogenic acid decreased along with the decrease in caffeine.

 

The Effect of Earning Asset Quality and Loan to Deposit Ratio on Non-Performing Loan of Rural Banks: Comparison between before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic

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This study aims to analyze the effect of Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR) and Earning Asset Quality (EAQ) on Non-Performing Loan (NPL) before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. The data used in this study are the quarterly reports of rural banks in Central Java from 174 banks. Data analysis was carried out by comparing multiple linear regressions before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. The results show that the Covid-19 pandemic can strengthen the negative relationship between LDR and NPL, as well as strengthen the positive relationship between EAQ and NPL. LDR before the Covid1-19 pandemic had an insignificant negative effect, but during the pandemic it had a negative and significant effect. Whereas EAQ had a positive effect on NPL both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.