An Examination of the Maturity Effect in the Indian Commodities Futures Market

This paper has examined the Samuelson’s hypothesis which states that the price volatility increases as the contract nears its maturity. It has also examined the BCSS hypothesis which provides that negative covariance between the spot price and net cost of carry explains the maturity effect. The study has examined these hypotheses on the data for wheat and pepper futures contract traded at NCDEX from the date of listing of the contract to 31st March 2007 and the maturity effect has been examined for each contract individually. The study has indicated that maturity effect is present in around 45 per cent of the wheat and pepper contracts. Evidence supporting the BCSS hypothesis is present more strongly in the case of wheat as compared to pepper and 79 per cent of the contracts having maturity effect have depicted negative covariance in the case of wheat. Thus, it can be concluded that maturity effect is present and it is explained to a large extent by the negative co-variance between spot price and net carry cost. The study has observed that there is further scope for research in this area in relation to other agricultural commodities and also metals. Further studies can also be undertaken to find the informational efficiency and the reaction of informational flow to identify the reasons for the presence or absence of maturity effect.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Macro and micro-morphological characteristics of Plantago seeds and its implication for species identification

Seed morphology of five species of Plantago (P. psyllium, P.ovata, P. lanceolata, P. major and P. arenaria) was examined under scanning electron microscope. Macro- and micro-morphological characters, including seed shape, colour, size, shape of cavity, surface ornamentation and epidermal cell shape are presented.  Marked difference among the species noted with respect of considered traits and a key for the identification of the investigated taxa based on seed characters is provided. Â

Assessment Of Pattern, Practice And Wastage Of Medicine-Use Among Undergraduate Students Of Universiti Sains Malaysia

Medicines are boon when used responsibly but irresponsible uses are cause for concern. Another health risk is associated with inappropriate drug use. This irrational practice often associated with risk on health and economic burden. The increase in the cost of drugs is also linked to factors such as irrational drug use and consumer behavioural aspects that lead to wastage. Majority of drug wastage is due to sub-consumption of medicine when consumers do not finish the medications prescribed by their doctors. In Malaysia as reported by National Survey on Use of Medicine (2012 and 2015), more than half of the population does not understand the proper use of medicine where a large proportion is young and studying

Comparative evaluation of pre and post operative functional outcomes determined by Lysholm knee score of patients undergoing arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Background: The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the primary stabilizer of the knee joint and prevents the knee against anterior translation. After ACL tears, most patients experience recurrent episodes of instability (give way), pain and decreased function. Purpose of our study was to comparative evaluation of functional outcomes of pre and post operative patients after arthroscopic ACL reconstruction by using Lysholm knee score and its complications.Methods: This is a prospective interventional study which were included total 45 patients undergoing arthroscopic ACL reconstruction by using hamstring autograft. Postoperatively patients were followed up at 6, 9 and 12 months for functional assessment by using Lysholm knee score.Results: After ACL reconstruction increment in mean Lysholm knee score during follow up from 69.33 to 96.03 at final followup (p<0.001) which indicate that significant improvement in functional status of patients.Conclusions: Reconstruction of ACL leads the patient to return to a normal activity level and prevent the occurrence of associate meniscal injury and post-traumatic osteoarthritis. A regular followup based and well-organized rehabilitation program provide a key role in functional outcome of knee after ACL reconstruction

NLization of Nouns, Pronouns and Prepositions in Punjabi With EUGENE

Abstract Universal Networking Language (UNL) has been used by various researchers as an Interlingua approach for AMT (Automatic machine translation). The UNL system consists of two main components/tools, namely, EnConverter-IAN (used for converting the text from a source language to UNL) and DeConverter -EUGENE (used for converting the text from UNL to a target language). This paper highlights the DeConversion generation rules used for the DeConverter and indicates its usage in the generation of Punjabi sentences. This paper also covers the results of implementation of UNL input by using DeConverter-EUGENE and its evaluation on UNL sentences such as Nouns, Pronouns and Prepositions

APPLICATION OF QUALITY BY DESIGN APPROACH FOR THE OPTIMIZATION OF ORODISPERSIBLE FILM FORMULATION

Objective: The present study was done to understand the effect of formulation variables on the quality of orodispersible films using quality by design (QbD) approach as mentioned in ICH Q8 (R2) guideline.Methods: A definitive screening design of experiments (DoE) was used to identify and classify the critical formulation variables affecting critical quality attributes (CQA) using 2×2 factorial design. Based on prescreening study, the critical formulation variables, i.e. concentration of film-forming polymer and plasticizers (propylene glycol and polyethylene glycol 400 [PEG 400]) were kept in the range of 1.5–2.5% w/w and 0.5–1% v/v, respectively. A total of eight laboratory-scale formulations were prepared which were provided by DoE using solvent casting method. These batches were evaluated for CQA's, i.e. mechanical properties such as folding endurance (FD) and disintegration time (DT). Data were analyzed for elucidating interactions between two variables and for providing a predictive model for the process. Finally, the drug was incorporated into optimized batches, and these were evaluated for in vitro dissolution study in simulated saliva (pH 6.8) as well as their mechanical properties.Results: The results suggested that the concentration of film-forming polymer and plasticizer was critical to manufacture orodispersible film with desired CQA, i.e. mechanical property (FD [>150 folds]) and DT (<60 s). The percent drug release, FD, and DT of optimized Formulation I (hydroxypropyl methylcellulose [HPMC] E5 (2%) and propylene glycol [0.15 mL]) were found to be 82.13%±0.260 (in 15 min), 164±2, and 49±1.5 s, respectively, and for optimized Formulation II (HPMC E5 [2%] and PEG 400 [0.15 mL]) was found to be 64.26%±2.026 (in 15 min) and 218±6 and 55±4 s, respectively.Conclusion: From the results, it has been found that the percentage drug release of naratriptan hydrochloride containing propylene glycol as a plasticizer was greater than the formulation containing PEG 400 as plasticizer. From this, we concluded that QbD is very much useful approach to get an optimized formulation in an economic and faster way in comparison to traditional method (hit and trail methods). The futuristic application of the film will involve the management of an acute migraine

Sensorless speed control of DC motor using EKF estimator and TSK fuzzy logic controller

In this article, sensorless speed control of DC motor has been proposed using the extended Kalman filter (EKF) estimator and Takagi–Sugeno-Kang (TSK) fuzzy logic controller (FLC). In the industry, high-cost measurement systems/sensors are necessary for better controlling and monitoring, which can be replaced by a sensorless control technique to reduce the cost, size and increase system reliability and robustness. EKF has been used to perform the sensorless speed control by estimating the speed of the DC motor using the armature current only and TSK-FLC is used to reduce the effect of motor parameter variation and load torque nonlinearity in close loop speed control for various speed references. The performance of EKF-based TSK-FLC is compared with EKF-based PID controller. The time-domain specification and absolute error performance indices indicate that EKF-based TSK-FLC is superior to the EKF-based PID under similar conditions. The proposed system is executed in the MATLAB/Simulink environment, and sensorless speed control of DC motor prototype model has been developed for validating the proposed technique with the help of a micro-controller

Comparative efficacy of intra-articular hyaluronic acid and corticosteroid injections in the management of knee osteoarthritis

Background: Osteoarthritis management includes a myriad of treatment modalities. This study compared the effects of corticosteroid and Hylan G-F 20 injections on knee osteoarthritis outcomes. Methods: Patients were randomized to receive either corticosteroid or Hylan G-F 20 injections. Outcome measures included the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, knee society rating system scores, and visual analog scale scores, collected at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Results: Baseline demographic and clinical parameters were comparable between both groups. The corticosteroid group demonstrated a significant decrease in the WOMAC score over time (p<0.001). Hylan G-F 20 group showed significant improvements in both the WOMAC scores and Visual Analog Scale scores over time (p<0.01). Gender-based sub-analysis suggested both treatments were effective in men, while in women, significant benefits were seen only with Hylan G-F 20. Conclusions: Both corticosteroid and Hylan G-F 20 demonstrated efficacy in managing knee osteoarthritis, albeit in different domains. The results suggest the need for individualized treatment plans and further research into potential gender-based variations in treatment response

Cross-Reactivity of Antibodies against Leptospiral Recurrent Uveitis-Associated Proteins A and B (LruA and LruB) with Eye Proteins

Infection by Leptospira interrogans has been causally associated with human and equine uveitis. Studies in our laboratories have demonstrated that leptospiral lipoprotein LruA and LruB are expressed in the eyes of uveitic horses, and that antibodies directed against LruA and LruB react with equine lenticular and retinal extracts, respectively. These reactivities were investigated further by performing immunofluorescent assays on lenticular and retinal tissue sections. Incubation of lens tissue sections with LruA-antiserum and retinal sections with LruB-antiserum resulted in positive fluorescence. By employing two-dimensional gel analyses followed by immunoblotting and mass spectrometry, lens proteins cross-reacting with LruA antiserum were identified to be α-crystallin B and vimentin. Similarly, mass spectrometric analyses identified β-crystallin B2 as the retinal protein cross-reacting with LruB-antiserum. Purified recombinant human α-crystallin B and vimentin were recognized by LruA-directed antiserum, but not by control pre-immune serum. Recombinant β-crystallin B2 was likewise recognized by LruB-directed antiserum, but not by pre-immune serum. Moreover, uveitic eye fluids contained significantly higher levels of antiibodies that recognized α-crystallin B, β-crystallin B2 and vimentin than did normal eye fluids. Our results indicate that LruA and LruB share immuno-relevant epitopes with eye proteins, suggesting that cross-reactive antibody interactions with eye antigens may contribute to immunopathogenesis of Leptospira-associated recurrent uveitis

The Development and Anatomy of Adrenal Glands

The retroperitoneal adrenals are situated in the epigastric region of the abdomen, on the upper pole of either kidney. The glands are golden-yellow in color. The right adrenal is triangular or pyramidal, and the left one is semi-circular or crescentic in shape. The blood supply rate per gram of tissue for the adrenal gland is one of the highest. The two parts of the gland are derived from two different embryological tissues. This chapter discusses the normal macro- and microscopic anatomy of the gland along with its embryological development