MyMedR

Displaying all 5 publications

Abstract:

Sort:

Fulltext COVID-19 economic stimulus packages, tourism industry and external debt: The influence of extreme poverty

Okafor L, Khalid U

PLoS One, 2023;18(8):e0287384.
PMID: 37643183 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287384

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a catastrophic effect on the tourism sector and poverty alleviation efforts. This is especially the case, given the crucial role the tourism sector plays in poverty alleviation and the generation of foreign exchange earnings. This study investigates the moderating influence of extreme poverty on the underlying link between the size of the tourism industry and COVID-19 Economic Stimulus Packages (ESPs) while accounting for the influence of external debt. The results show that tourism-dependent economies with a larger share of individuals living in extreme poverty introduced larger ESPs to cushion the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, economies with larger external debt have less fiscal and monetary leeway to alleviate the negative effects of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Does meat consumption exacerbate greenhouse gas emissions? Evidence from US data

Shafiullah M, Khalid U, Shahbaz M

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2021 Mar;28(9):11415-11429.
PMID: 33118073 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-11331-9

This study empirically investigates the effect of meat consumption on greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) in the USA. The impact of meat consumption on greenhouse gas emissions is examined by controlling for economic growth and energy consumption. The empirical analysis finds that all these variables are cointegrated for the long run. Moreover, meat consumption aggravates greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, meat consumption (except for beef) has a U-shaped relationship with carbon emissions and an inverted U-shaped relationship with methane and nitrous oxide emissions. The causality analysis indicates a unidirectional causality running from meat consumption to greenhouse gas emissions. These empirical findings indicate that the US livestock sector has the potential to become more environmentally friendly with careful policy formulation and implementation.
Fulltext Do stock markets play a role in determining COVID-19 economic stimulus? A cross-country analysis

Shafiullah M, Khalid U, Chaudhry SM

World Econ, 2021 May 07.
PMID: 34230757 DOI: 10.1111/twec.13130

This paper makes an innovative contribution to the extant literature by analysing the determinants of economic stimulus packages implemented by governments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, we explore whether stock market declines observed in many countries can predict the size of COVID-19 stimulus packages. Moreover, we explore whether a country's level of income can augment the underlying relationship between stock market declines and stimulus packages. The findings reveal that a larger stock market decline results in a larger stimulus package; however, this effect is only observed in countries that have an income level greater than the mean and/or median per capita gross domestic product (GDP). Moreover, our results show that monetary policy is more responsive to a stock market decline than fiscal policy. Thus, our results underscore the importance of international donor agencies such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in supporting less affluent countries in coping with the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their economies.
Removal of micropollutants from municipal wastewater using different types of activated carbons

Sher F, Hanif K, Rafey A, Khalid U, Zafar A, Ameen M, et al.

J Environ Manage, 2021 Jan 15;278(Pt 2):111302.
PMID: 33152547 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111302

The water reservoirs are getting polluted due to increasing amounts of micropollutants such as pharmaceuticals, organic polymers and suspended solids. Powdered activated carbon (PAC) has been proved to be a promising solution for the purification of water without having harmful impacts on the environment. Parameters such as PAC dosing, wastewater hardness, the effect of coagulant and flocculant were evaluated in a batch scale study. These parameters were further applied on a pilot plant scale for the performance evaluation of PAC based removal of micropollutants concerning the contact time and PAC dosing with main focus on recirculation of PAC sludge. The obtained optimum dose was 10-20 mg/L providing 84.40-91.30% removal efficiency of suspended solid micropollutants (MPs) and this efficiency increased to 88.90-93.00% along with coagulant which further raised by the addition of polymer and recirculation process at batch scale. On pilot plant scale, the concentration in contact reactor and PAC removal effectiveness of dissolved air flotation, lamella separator and sedimentation tank were compared. Constant optimisation resulted in a concentration ranging from 2.70 to 3.40 g/L at dosing of PAC 10 mg/L, coagulant 2.00 mg/L and polymer 0.50 mg/L. PAC doses of 10-20 mg/L with 15-30 min contact time proved best for above 70-80% elimination. The recirculation system has also proved an efficient technique because the PAC's adsorption capacity was practically completely used. Small PAC dosages yielded high micropollutants elimination.
Fulltext User experience design in virtual reality medical training application

Sattar MU, Palaniappan S, Lokman A, Shah N, Riaz Z, Khalid U

J Pak Med Assoc, 2021 Jul;71(7):1730-1735.
PMID: 34410236 DOI: 10.5455/JPMA.22992

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of design parameters on the user experience of virtual reality medical training.
Methods: The quantitative study was conducted at Punjab (Pakistan) from July 2018 to October 2018, and comprised final year students from eight medical colleges in Pakistan. Each respondent was given to experience laparoscopy operation in text, video and virtual reality-based learning methodologies. User experience and usefulness was assessed against a pre-validated scale and compared with the three learning methodologies.
RESULTS: Of the 87, students, 50(57.5%) were male and 37(42.5%) were female. The overall mean age was 22.5±4 years. Result of virtual reality was better than others (p<0.05). Data was analysed using SPSS 20.
CONCLUSIONS: Virtual reality-based learning provided better user experience than traditional learning methodologies.