A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION TOWARDS HERBAL PRODUCTS

Herbal products plays an important role in people’s life to protect them against various health issues. The study aims to identify the satisfaction of the customers towards herbal products in Erode district. The study was based on questionnaire with a sample of 100 respondents. The findings were analyzed using simple percentage analysis, chi-square test and friedman ranking test. Findings reveal that age, gender, educational qualification and type of family have significant association with customers level of satisfaction towards herbal products

ADVENT OF AUGMENTED REALITY EXPERIENCE IN RETAIL AND ONLINE SHOPPING AND ITS INFLUENCING SIGNIFICANCE IN FUTURE

Augmented Reality (AR) is a trending technology that augments or superimposes an image generated by a computer system virtually into the real world environment for the user’s viewpoint using a smart phone or other hand held devices. AR shows recent advancements in the shopping domain with various implementation trails and refinement. The simplicity and flexibility in online shopping where people stay in their own place and do shopping brought a great challenge to retail shopping environment today. Retail stores are now struggling a lot to bring in the customers and the foot traffic has been greatly reduced due to which online sales are boosting and retail sales are stalling. This necessitates to bring new technological innovations to offline shopping to attract people. With the use of AR, it is possible to merge digital component to physical products in the store to stimulate the engagement of the shopping experience with more fun and joy. On the other hand, in the online shopping, though user reviews and product showcase aids the customers to analyze the quality, look and feel of diverse products, the buyer still cannot see how exactly the product fits in a real environment or how it works. Here plays AR a vital role in online shopping where it uses animations and visualization techniques to offer more value to their shoppers virtually aiding to see exactly the look of the product in user environment. This paper explains the advancement of AR in both retail and online shopping of various product domains with an implementation model of ShopAR for Online shopping and AR significance in near future

DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF DILTIAZEM HYDROCHLORIDE LOADED NANOSPONGES FOR ORAL DELIVERY

Objective: In the current investigation,nanosponges were set up by emulsion solvent diffusion technique utilizing ethyl cellulose and β-cyclodextrin as polymers. Methods: Diltiazem hydrochloride is taken as model medication for considering different nanosponge formulations. The similarity of different formulation segments was set up by Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy. Molecular size, surface morphology, entrapment efficiency and drug content of nanosponges were analyzed. Shape and surface morphology of the nanosponges were inspected utilizing scanning electron microscopy. Results: Molecule size of formulated nanosponges was seen in the scope of 186 to 476 nm. Scanning electron microscopy uncovered the permeable, round nature of the nanosponges. The drug content of nanosponges for ethyl cellulose containing formulations was seen as in the scope of 62.25 to 85.11% and for the β-cyclodextrin containing details were seen as in the scope of 65.18-89.67%. The percentage entrapment effectiveness of nanosponges for ethyl cellulose containing formulations were seen as in the scope of 54.18 to 79.49% and for the β-cyclodextrin containing details were seen as in the scope of 58.21-83.45%. In vitro drugreleasefindings demonstrated that at 12 h ethyl cellulose containing formulations discharged the drug in the scope of 57.27-89.09% and for the β-cyclodextrin containing formulations discharged in the scope of 73.94-93.26%. Conclusion: Sustained drugreleasefrom formulations is supported if there is an occurrence of ethyl cellulose in the formulations rather with plans containing β-cyclodextrin

ASSESSING THE COMPETING ABILITY OF WEEDY RICE (Oryza sativa f. spontanea) WITH CULTIVATED RICE UNDER ELEVATED CO2 CONDITIONS

Climate change can adversely affect rice production, especially for weed management in the context of emergence and proliferation of newer weed species like weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea) in the rice growing tracts of Kerala. In the past decade, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) has risen from 371.82 to 407.05 ppm from 2000 to 2018 which might have an impact on the competitive ability of a C3 plant like weedy rice. The competitiveness of weedy rice was studied in an open top chamber (OTC) under a CO2 concentration of 500 ppm (Chamber A), OTC without external CO2 supply (Chamber B), and open condition along with two popular cultivated rice varieties Uma and Jyothi with both air and soil temperature inside the chamber to the tune of 40-430C and 35-400C respectively. The study revealed a higher competitive potential of weedy rice in terms of tillering ability under elevated carbon dioxide as it responded well compared to cultivated rice varieties. There was a differential response of rice varieties to elevated CO2 conditions with medium duration variety responding well compared to short duration one. Compared to ambient conditions (chamber B and open condition), higher tillering was observed under elevated CO2 (chamber A) in which weedy rice tillered profusely (17.33) than cultivated rice species (9 and 11.33). There was a linear increase in plant height of weedy rice in chamber A (108.97 cm) during the initial stages and in chamber B (112.77 cm) during reproductive stages. The study evidenced that in the coming future, higher CO2 levels can stimulate biomass production of C3 weed like weedy rice with a greater increase in tillering which could be an important trait affecting inter specific competition

CFT: Co-operative file transfer algorithm for multi network interface sessions

File transfer is one of the important operations on the Internet. Generally files are transferred from one machine to another machine through one interface. File transfer can occur through multiple interface connections also. Protocols such as SCTP, transfers data in multiple data stream within a single connection and LFTP transfers file sourced from multiple servers to a single host. Here, we present the concept of using multiple network interfaces for transferring files from a single server. This would ensure the utilization of combined bandwidth of all the interfaces used, so that the rate of file transfer would increase considerably compared to single bandwidth transfer. In this work, we use two interfaces i.e, IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) and IEEE 802.11 (WiFi) to accomplish the above task. We use a non pre-emptive context switching framework Twisted where threading is avoided for an effective resource utilization. The required file is downloaded utilizing two interfaces instead of one unlike normal file transfer. We analyze the improvement in performance by observing the time taken to download a file using two different interfaces (Ethernet and WiFi) and comparing that with a single interface download (using either Ethernet or WiFi) in real time scenario. We attempt to deal with the issue of when and how to connect through two interfaces which combines the bandwidths of both these interfaces, aiding in improving the performance of file transfer when compared to file transfer using single interface

Growth pattern and competitiveness of Indian shrimp export trade

Shrimp is the world's most important commodity accounting for about 19 percent of international seafood trade in value terms. In India's export trade shrimp contributed about 29 percent in quantity and 67 percent in value in the years 2002-2003. Thre present study was an attempt to critically examine compound growth rate and competitiveness of Indian shrimp in international seafood market based on the data collected from FAO fisheries statistics database, MPEDA statistics and Globe fish commodity update

Potential impact of a maternal vaccine for RSV: a mathematical modelling study

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of respiratory morbidity and one of the main causes of hospitalisation in young children. While there is currently no licensed vaccine for RSV, a vaccine candidate for pregnant women is undergoing phase 3 trials. We developed a compartmental age-structured model for RSV transmission, validated using linked laboratory-confirmed RSV hospitalisation records for metropolitan Western Australia. We adapted the model to incorporate a maternal RSV vaccine, and estimated the expected reduction in RSV hospitalisations arising from such a program. The introduction of a vaccine was estimated to reduce RSV hospitalisations in Western Australia by 6-37% for 0-2month old children, and 30-46% for 3-5month old children, for a range of vaccine effectiveness levels. Our model shows that, provided a vaccine is demonstrated to extend protection against RSV disease beyond the first three months of life, a policy using a maternal RSV vaccine could be effective in reducing RSV hospitalisations in children up to six months of age, meeting the objective of a maternal vaccine in delaying an infant's first RSV infection to an age at which severe disease is less likely

The Critical Care Society of Southern Africa consensus statement on ICU triage and rationing (ConICTri)

BACKGROUND: In South Africa (SA), intensive care is faced with the challenge of resource scarcity as well as an increasing demand for intensive care unit (ICU) services. ICU services are expensive, and practitioners in low- to middle-income countries experience daily the consequences of limited resources. Critically limited resources necessitate that rationing and triage (prioritisation) decisions are frequently necessary in SA, particularly in the publicly funded health sector. PURPOSE: The purpose of this consensus statement is to examine key questions that arise when considering the status of ICU resources in SA, and more specifically ICU admission, rationing and triage decisions. The accompanying guideline in this issue is intended to guide frontline triage policy and ensure the best utilisation of intensive care in SA, while maintaining a fair distribution of available resources. Fair and efficient triage is important to ensure the ongoing provision of high-quality care to adult patients referred for intensive care. RECOMMENDATIONS: In response to 14 key questions developed using a modified Delphi technique, 29 recommendations were formulated and graded using an adapted GRADE score. The 14 key questions addressed the status of the provision of ICU services in SA, the degree of resource restriction, the efficiency of resource management, the need for triage, and how triage could be most justly implemented. Important recommendations included the need to formally recognise and accurately quantify the provision of ICU services in SA by national audit; actively seek additional resources from governmental bodies; consider methods to maximise the efficiency of ICU care; evaluate lower level of care alternatives; develop a triage guideline to assist policy-makers and frontline practitioners to implement triage decisions in an efficient and fair way; measure and audit the consequence of triage; and promote research to improve the accuracy and consistency of triage decisions. The consensus document and guideline should be reviewed and revised appropriately within 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: In recognition of the absolute need to limit patient access to ICU because of the lack of sufficient intensive care resources in public hospitals, recommendations and a guideline have been developed to guide policy-making and assist frontline triage decision-making in SA. These documents are not a complete plan for quality practice but rather the beginning of a long-term initiative to engage clinicians, the public and administrators in appropriate triage decision-making, and promote systems that will ultimately maximise the efficient and fair use of available ICU resources.http://www.samj.org.zapm2020SurgeryCritical Car

South African guidelines on the determination of death

Death is a medical occurrence that has social, legal, religious and cultural consequences requiring common clinical standards for its diagnosis and legal regulation. This document compiled by the Critical Care Society of Southern Africa outlines the core standards for determination of death in the hospital context. It aligns with the latest evidence-based research and international guidelines and is applicable to the South African context and legal system. The aim is to provide clear medical standards for healthcare providers to follow in the determination of death, thereby promoting safe practices and high-quality care through the use of uniform standards. Adherence to such guidelines will provide assurance to medical staff, patients, their families and the South African public that the determination of death is always undertaken with diligence, integrity, respect and compassion, and is in accordance with accepted medical standards and latest scientific evidence. The consensus guidelines were compiled using the AGREE II checklist with an 18-member expert panel participating in a three-round modified Delphi process. Checklists and advice sheets were created to assist with application of these guidelines in the clinical environmenAlso published as: Thomson, D., Joubert, I., De Vasconcellos, K. et al. South African guidelines on the determination of death. Southern African Journal of Critical Care 2021, vol. 37, no. 1b, pp. 41-54. https://doi.org/10.7196/SAJCC.2021v37i1b.466.The Critical Care Society of Southern Africa (CCSSA)http://www.samj.org.zahttp://www.sajcc.org.zadm2022Critical CareNursing ScienceSurger