Method of Deriving Companion Identities Associating q-Series

In this paper, we have established two theorems by making use of Euler’s q-derivative and qshifted operators for a function of one variable and also for function of two variables. We derived several companion identities by applying these theorems on some known q-series identities. We deduced several special cases which are also the companion identities in the last section of the paper

Efficacy of cartridge based nucleic acid amplification test to diagnose tubercular pleural effusion

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major health concern worldwide. Extra pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in India accounts up to 20% of all tuberculosis cases. EPTB often remains undetected and untreated due to variable clinical presentation and lack of diagnostic means. Early detection of TB and drug resistance is important in the management of TB. The aim of present study was to assess the role of cartridge based nucleic acid amplification test in rapid diagnosis of tubercular pleural effusion.Methods: The study screened 211 symptomatic patients. The patients with clinical and radiological presentations suggestive of pleural effusion were analyzed using light’s criteria to make a diagnosis of tubercular pleural effusion; these patients submitted pleural fluid sample for smear microscopy after concentration for presence of acid fast bacilli under light emitting diode based fluorescent microscopy (LED-FM), and for cartridge based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) using GX4 GeneXpert MTB/Rif test system. The results were statistically analyzed.Results: Out of patients who had pleural effusion without any pulmonary tuberculosis, pleural fluid biochemistry analyses using light’s criteria detected 20 tubercular pleural effusions (11 male and 9 female). Seven patients had history of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in past, all of them received treatment with effective treatment compliance in past. Pleural fluid microscopic examination for detection of acid-fast bacilli was not able to detect acid-fast bacilli in any of these 20 patients diagnosed with tubercular pleural effusion. CBNAAT could authentically detect M. tuberculosis in 5/20 patients diagnosed with tubercular pleural effusion. There was no impact of gender, previous history of tuberculosis, history of anti-tuberculosis treatment (ATT) intake, or compliance to ATT on CBNAAT status in this study.Conclusions: CBNAAT has the potential to significantly authenticate tubercular etiology in some of smear-negative pleural fluid specimens with rapid test results. It has an added advantage to assess the rifampicin drug sensitivity. All this contribute hugely in diagnosis and management of tubercular pleural effusion

Non-Linear Effects of Information Systems Innovation

This study investigates the impact of innovation on users of an evolving Information Systems (IS) product. Building on two different streams of research, Levitts (198) Total Product Concept and the Three Factor theory (Kano. 1984) this study identifies three types of innovation: Basic, Expected and Augmented. The impact of introducing these innovations on user satisfaction was found to be dependent on the level of user satisfaction (performance) before the innovations were introduced and the type of innovation. Basic innovations impacted user satisfaction positively when the current level of performance of the IS product was low but not when the current level of performance was high. Expected and Augmented innovations impacted user satisfaction when the current level of performance was high but not when the current level of performance was low. This finding has interesting implications for practice and future research

Lean Software Development: Evaluating Techniques for Parsimonious Feature Selection of Evolving Information Systems Products

Lean software development is a product development paradigm with focus on creating value for the customer and eliminating waste from all phases of the development life cycle. Applying lean principles, empirical studies were conducted focusing on identifying and assessing methods that parsimoniously select features from a given set of user feature requests. The results of the studies show that the Kano survey method has potential. It demonstrated efficacy in not only identifying the feature subset, from a given set of feature requests, that maximizes value to the users but also in eliminating waste by identifying the subset of features which does not provide significant value to the users when implemented into the software product. The design and results of one study is elaborated in this article. The findings obtained in the study have useful implications for practice and opens up new avenues of research for evolving market-driven software products