Emerging Technology in Business and Finance

In the globalized scenario where technologies are developing continuously with time, these novel methods are affecting the business and finance in the significant way. In this chapter we are going to discuss about the major emerging technologies in the field of entrepreneurship, application development, finance, and business. The authors are going to start with the introduction about the business, finance, entrepreneurship and application development, and the effect of the emerging technologies on these fields and the way in which technologies are developing from time to time, about adoption of these technologies by industries. The changes in the technologies with special reference to developed and developing country will also be the part of this chapter. Moving ahead we are discussing about these technologies in prevailing businesses as well as upcoming business. Some of the technologies we are going to discuss are Embedded Business Intelligence, Amplified Visual Presentation, Augmented Analytics, Cloud Management. Beside these technologies, we are going to cover about the growing automation in the finance sector such as Cloud banking, Robotic process automation, Blockchain, Internet of things, etc. This chapter will cover all the technologies while getting the complete knowledge about what, why, where, when and how it is changing in the present finance and business scenario. Just like the two opposite faces of the coin, one side these emerging technologies are boon for the business and finances then on the other side there are certain risks involved in these technologies, which can be a great threat to our business as well as in our routine life. So, we also discuss about the potential risks associated with these technologies. We will end our chapter by giving our conclusion, precautions, and suggestions on these technologies

Detection of RSV in Children ≤2 years from SARS CoV-2 negative samples at National Public Health Laboratory, Nepal

Introduction: Respiratory syncytial viruses also known as human respiratory syncytial viruses (HRSV) are highly transmissible respiratory pathogens & the leading cause of hospitalization due to lower respiratory infection, especially in the pediatric population. This study is intended to determine the RSV positivity in SARS-CoV-2 negative samples obtained from patients ≤ 2 years, collected from September to December 2021, when RSV infection is more common. Method: SARS-CoV-2 negative archived nasopharyngeal samples of children ≤2 years from September to December 2021 at National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) were tested for RSV by real-time reverse transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) using CDC RSV Kit. The Pan-RSV primer/probe set used for the universal detection of RSV and duplex RSV subgroup primer/probe set used for the detection and subgroup-specific identification of RSV A and B. Result: A total of 294 SARS-CoV-2 negative samples from children less than 2 y were tested. RSV A was identified in 100(34%) and RSV B was detected in 6(2%) samples. In all, 106(36%) samples were positive for RSV. Here we report RSV positivity rate of 36% in SARS-CoV-2 negative samples which were left undiagnosed during the surge of COVID-19 cases. Conclusion: Our study thereby highlights the need for an accurate and rapid differential or multiplex kits for screening respiratory disease for effective disease management in the pediatric population

A cross-sectional study to evaluate sonographic foetal humerus length for estimation of gestational age in normal singleton pregnancies at a tertiary care centre

Background: Accurate knowledge of gestational age of the foetus is essential for planning a timely and uneventful outcome. Biparietal diameter, head circumference, abdominal circumference and femur length reliably predict gestational age. The humerus length is not widely used as biometric parameter for determining the GA so the present study was done to estimate foetal gestational age by measuring humerus length between 18 to 36 weeks of normal singleton pregnancies and to compare humerus length with routine parameters.Methods: This was a hospital based descriptive cross-sectional study, 200 women with viable singleton pregnancy, with known LMP, between 18 weeks to 36 weeks of gestation were included. Various foetal measurements such as biparietal diameter, head circumference, abdominal circumference, femur length and humerus length were measured using electronic calipers on ultrasound. Data were statistically analyzed.Results: The mean humerus length at 18 weeks was 25.27±1.16 mm and at 36 weeks of gestation was 57.11±1.58 mm. Simple linear regression analysis shows a strongly significant linear relationship between humerus length and gestational age. Where, gestational age (weeks) Y= 0.5213 x humerus length (X) + 4.905; with high degree of correlation coefficient (R2 =0.9785 and P≤0.0001). When Compared with BPD, HC, AC and FL, humerus length also shows a linear correlation.Conclusions: The measurement of the humerus length can be an important additional parameter for estimating gestational age along with other parameters and can be used to predict the gestational age of fetuses in special circumstances

A comparative study of serum calcium and magnesium levels in women with pre-eclampsia and normotensive women

Background: Pre-eclampsia is transient but potentially dangerous complication of pregnancy. Despite of pre-eclampsia's prevalence and severity, the pathophysiology of this multisystem disorder is still poorly understood and its aetiology has not yet been fully elucidated. Recently, nutritional deficiency especially micronutrients deficiency is gaining prominence in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia. Hypocalcaemia and hypomagnesaemia have been implicated in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia. This study has been done to compare serum calcium and magnesium levels in women with pre-eclampsia and normotensive women and their association with severity of pre-eclampsia.Methods: 50 women with pre-eclampsia and 50 normotensive women were included in the study and serum calcium and magnesium levels were measured. Data were analyzed.Results: The serum ionic calcium concentration was significantly lower in the pre-eclamptic cases compared to the normotensive controls (3.34±1.35 versus 4.37±0.74, p=0.0000) similarly serum magnesium concentration was significantly lower in the pre-eclamptic cases compared to the normotensive controls (1.68±0.41 versus 1.94±0.42, p-0.002). Mean serum ionic Ca levels in severe pre-eclampsia group was significantly lower than normotensive pregnant women (p=0.0000) as well as mild pre-eclampsia group (p=0.001). Mean serum Mg in severe pre-eclampsia was significantly lower than normotensive pregnant women (p=0.0008) as well as mild pre-eclampsia group (p=0.03). Serum ionic Ca and Mg had a negative correlation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure.Conclusions: Based on this study, measurements of serum ionic calcium and magnesium among women at risk of for pre-eclampsia may be used to predict the onset and severity of pre-eclampsia

A Parameter Based Comparative Study of Deep Learning Algorithms for Stock Price Prediction

Stock exchanges are places where buyers and sellers meet to trade shares in public companies. Stock exchanges encourage investment. Companies can grow, expand, and generate jobs in the economy by raising cash. These investments play a crucial role in promoting trade, economic expansion, and prosperity. We compare the three well-known deep learning algorithms, LSTM, GRU, and CNN, in this work. Our goal is to provide a thorough study of each algorithm and identify the best strategy when taking into account elements like accuracy, memory utilization, interpretability, and more. To do this, we recommend the usage of hybrid models, which combine the advantages of the various methods while also evaluating the performance of each approach separately. Aim of research is to investigate model with the highest accuracy and the best outcomes with respect to stock price prediction

Healthcare Seeking Behaviour of Hospitalised COVID-19 Patients During Second Wave in Tertiary Care Hospital of Northern India

Background: The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic continues its deadly reign all over the world. Devising effective strategies for detecting and controlling the infection has become ever more critical. Effective prevention and control of the pandemic is entirely dependent on human behavior in terms of practicing preventive and curative measures. During the second wave of COVID-19, people’s perceptions of preventive and curative measures changed. Objective: To study healthcare-seeking behavior of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Methods: Hospitalized patients due to COVID-19 in the month of March, April and May of 2021 were included in the study. Their attendants/close relatives were contacted telephonically to know about the admitted patients’ healthcare-seeking behavior. Verbal consent was taken from attendants before the commencement of the interview, followed by informing them about the purpose of the interview. Results: Amongst the subjects, there were more males than females (67.5 vs 32.4%), age ranged between 18 to 88 with a mean value of 56.61 ± 14.7 years. Self-medication was significantly associated with study subjects’ mortality (p=0.03). Conclusion: Elderly people were having higher mortality rate than their younger counterparts. People were hesitant to visit primary care physicians after having symptoms of COVID-19

Pongamol from the seeds of Tephrosia purpurea exert anti-cancer activity against cervical cancer cell line

Tephrosia purpurea belongs to the family Fabaceae, is used for the treatment of inflammation, diabetes, cancer, elephantitis, haemmaroids, anaemia, dysmenorrhea, chronic fever, boils, gingivitis etc. In the present study, three compounds (TP-1, TP-3 and TP-5) were isolated from EETP. Quantity of TP-3 (6.05 %) in EETP was determined by HPLC. In-vitro anti-cancer activity of EETP and isolated compound TP-3 on SiHa cells (cervical cancer cell lines) as well as PBMCs (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) were evaluated by MTT (3-(4,5- di methyl thiazol -2-yl)-2,5-di phenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay. Spectroscopic analysis and physical properties, structure of isolated compounds TP-1, TP-3 and TP-5 were characterized as teclenone, pongamol and β-sitosterol respectively. Isolated compound TP-3 showed cytotoxicity against SiHa cells with the IC50 33.06 µgmL-1. TP-3 showed cytotoxicity at all the concentrations but significant activity was observed at the concentration range from 20-50 µgmL-1 as compared to control. Maximum cytotoxicity (72.75%) was observed at the concentration of 50 µgmL-1. TP-3 showed non-significant cytotoxicity against PBMCs cells at all the concentrations except at 50 µgmL-1 (cytotoxicity 24.19%). EETP showed significant cytotoxic activity (IC50 value 113.63 µgmL-1) against SiHa cells at the concentration range from 75-150 µgmL-1 as compared to control. Maximum cytotoxicity (75.34%) was observed at the concentration of 150 µgmL-1

Mask Use pattern, Public Perception and Barriers to Effective Mask Usage-A battle far from over

Background & Objective: Proper mask wearing reduces the transmissibility and risk of Covid-19 infection still compliance to mask use is low. This study was conducted to observe the mask usage pattern, perception and barriers to effective mask usage (EMU). Settings and Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted in collaboration with district police administration to observe mask usage pattern in various crowded places. Methods and Material: Participants from general public (n=6995) in 10 preselected areas of city were observed and then interviewed about their perceptions about EMU. Indirect observation of EMU was also done by screening CCTV footage, followed by another set of observation at same places after conducting a health education campaign. Data was entered in Microsoft excel and analyzed using SPSS. P value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: EMU was seen in nearly 62% participants. Younger age, native population, education above matric, persons driving two & four wheelers, had significantly higher compliance. During CCTV observation, EMU was 57.5%, and was highest near public places, roads and intersections while lowest near bus stand and religious places. Some improvement in compliance was seen after health education at these places. Breathing difficulty, no use of wearing mask and feeling uncomfortable were the most common reasons given by participants for non-compliance.Conclusions: EMU was lower in elderly, migrants, less educated, unemployed, daily wage workers, so these groups should be especially sensitized about preventive measures. There is need for extensive public education to bring out behavioral change regarding proper mask wearing to control this pandemic and prevent further waves

Depletion of Transmembrane Mucin 4 (Muc4) Alters Intestinal Homeostasis in a Genetically Engineered Mouse Model of Colorectal Cancer

Mucins are components of the mucus layer overlying the intestinal epithelial cells, which maintains physiological homeostasis. Altered mucin expression is associated with disease progression. Expression of MUC4 decreases in colorectal cancer (CRC); however, its functional role and implications in the intestinal pathology in CRC are not studied well. Therefore, we generated a genetically engineered Muc4 knockout (Muc4-/-) CRC mouse model by crossing with Muc4-/- and Apcflox/flox mice in the presence of colon-specific inducible Cre. We observed that deficiency of Muc4 results in an increased number of macroscopic tumors in the colon and rectal region and leads to poor survival. Further, the absence of Muc4 was associated with goblet cell dysfunction where the expression of intestinal homeostasis molecules (Muc2 and Fam3D) was downregulated. Next, we also observed that loss of Muc4 showed reduced thickness of mucus layer, leading to infiltration of bacteria, reduction in anti-microbial peptides, and upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Further, Apc gene mutation results in activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway that corroborated with an increased nuclear accumulation of β-catenin and activation of its target genes: cyclin D1 and c-Myc in Muc4-/- mice was observed. We conclude that the presence of Muc4 is essential for intestinal homeostasis, reduces tumor burden, and improves overall survival