Measuring and Analyzing agility of an Enterprise through DMAIC Six Sigma

Assessment of organizational Agility creates a problem due to inexact boundaries by which Agility is defined, and the variation depending on type of enterprise. This paper proposes how Six Sigma DMAIC approach may be utilized to address this gap. The agility assessment framework curve developed for information development systems used in this research has synergies with DMAIC phases of Six Sigma. This logic forms the basis of forming metrics to measure and analyze agility of an enterprise through DMAIC Six Sigma

DEVELOPMENT OF MUCOADHESIVE CARBOHYDRATE HETEROPOLYMER MICROBEADS FOR SUSTAIN RELEASE OF THEOPHYLLINE

Objective: The aim of present study was to develop and evaluate mucoadhesive microbeads for oral sustained release of an antiasthmatic agent theophylline†using natural gums such as sodium alginate and sesbania gum.Methods: The compatibility studies of drug with different polymers were investigated by using DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimeter) and FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy). Carbohydrate heteropolymer microbeads of alginate and sesbania gums were prepared by ionotropic gelation technique, where calcium chloride is used as a source of counter ions. Prepared beads were characterized for particle size, entrapment efficiency, surface morphology, swelling index, in vitro release studies and release kinetics.Results: Final optimized formulation consists of a polymer blend of alginate and sesbania gum with hydroxy propyl cellulose as release modifier. Microbeads exhibited good swelling index and high percentage of drug entrapment efficiency. The developed formulation showed a maximum drug release of 92% in 11 h using 0.1 N hydrochloric acid buffer (pH 1.2). The formulation followed Korsmeyer-Peppas and Higuchi release mechanism, releasing the drug by non-fickian diffusion. Prepared beads showed significant mucoadhesion in acidic buffer.Conclusion: The sustained release microbeads were successfully designed for oral administration of theophylline which may be used for the treatment of nocturnal asthma.Â

An epidemiological study of depression among college students in district Faridkot, Punjab, India

Background: Depression is one of the most under diagnosed and under reported in primary health settings. Depression is highly common and according to WHO by 2020, it would be the second-most prevalent condition worldwide. Physical illnesses and bio-psychosocial factors are common determinants of depression. Aims & Objectives: 1. To estimate prevalence of depression, 2. To determine associated factors among college going students. Material & Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among college going students. Half of the colleges were selected randomly and sample size was distributed on the basis of probability proportional to size (PPS). Assigned number of students from each college was selected by simple random sampling. Sample size of 1300 was calculated using formula (n) = ( Z1-? )2 P (100 - P ) / ?2. General Health Questionnaire (12 items) was used to diagnose psychiatric morbidity and those with this were administered Becks Depression Inventory II (21 items) scale for assessing the prevalence and level of depression. Both the scales were translated in local language and self-administered. The data was compiled and analyzed using Epi InfoTM. Results: A total of 1300 students were enrolled, psychiatric morbidity was present in 35% and prevalence of depression was 33%. Mild depression was found in 87% of the students with depression. Depression was higher among those aged >25 years, females, residing in nuclear families and studying science stream. Conclusion: Family support and adequate treatment are most important pillars of management

Larval Development and Molting

The term larva applies to the young hatchling which varies from the grown up adult in possessing organs not present in the adult such as sex glands and associated parts. Insect development is of four types namely Ametabolous, Paurometabolous, Hemimetabolous and Holometabolous. The larvae appear in variety of forms and are termed as caterpillars, grubs or maggots in different insects groups. The larval development consists of series of stages in which each stage is separated from the next by a molt. It’s a complex process involving hormones, proteins and enzymes. Insects grow in increments. The molting is the process through which insects can routinely cast off their exoskeleton during specific times in their life cycle. The insect form in between two subsequent molts is termed as instar. The number of instars varies from 3 to 40 in different insect orders depending on the surrounding environmental and other conditions such as inheritance, sex, food quality and quantity. The larvae are categorized into four types namely Protopod larva, Polypod larva, Oligopod larva and Apodous larva

Knowledge and practices in community regarding antibiotic usage

Background: One of the major causes of concern in medical world is rapid development of antibiotic resistance. World Health Organisation started an initiative in 2011 with a policy designed to curb this danger of antibiotic resistance. This study was designed to know the knowledge, attitude and belief of community regarding antibiotic use so that data can be generated in this region for the proper designing and implementation of awareness campaigns for the community.Methods: A single point cross sectional study was conducted in 1500 adults attending the Out Patient Department of a tertiary care hospital in Northern India. The tool used for the study was a predesigned questionnaire. The data was evaluated using descriptive statistical analysis.Results: In our study 92.8% participants admitted of having used an antibiotic at any time in their lifetime. The most common reason for use of antibiotics was common cold (36.2%). The most common antibiotic used by the participants was amoxycillin. The most common source of information regarding antibiotics and their use (63.2%) was physicians. 78.6% of the participants believed that they have awareness about rational use of antibiotics. 68.6% respondents were of the view that antibiotics are effective against both viral and bacterial infections. 52.3% of the participants believed antibiotics are not safe to use.Conclusions: The existence of a significant gap between practice of antibiotic usage and knowledge about their usage was found prevalently in the community. After noting the results of this study it is believed that there is a dire necessity to take steps to curb the menace of rapid development of resistance to antibiotics.

Patterns and practice of self-medication among children presenting with acute respiratory tract infection or diarrhoea

Background: Self-medication is quite prevalent in many parts of the world and has led to wastage of precious manpower and time due to many adverse consequences. As a result there is great burden on a country both financially as well as health point of view. The purpose of this study was to identify the pattern and practice of self-medication among children presenting with Acute Respiratory Tract Infection or Diarrhoea in a tertiary care hospital of northern India.Methods: A single point cross sectional study was conducted in 500 parents accompanying the children in the Paediatrics out Patient Department (OPD) of a Medical College in Northern India. The tool used for the study was a predesigned questionnaire. The data was evaluated using descriptive statistical analysis.Results: Out of 500 subjects 486 were found eligible for enrolment. Out of these eligible subjects, 308 (63.3%) parents reported history of self-medication. 143 (51.3%) male children were administered self-medication. This number was proportionately higher in females (79.7%). The drug most commonly administered were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (64.3%) followed by antibiotics and cough and cold preparations. The most common source of drug procurement was the left over drugs from previous treatment (75.2%) followed by purchase from a medical store. Most common reason for self-medication was previous experience with the prescribed drugs (76.6%).Conclusions: The problem of self-medication of prescription only drugs is quite prevalent in this part of the country. As self-medication has its complications and adversities proper orientation and awareness of the population about self-medication is of utmost importance for proper utilization of resources and manpower. Further the government agencies should ensure proper implementation and supervision of laws related to sale of ‘Prescription only drugs’

Towards Multi-UAV and Human Interaction Driving System Exploiting Human Mental State Estimation

This paper addresses the growing human-multi-UAV interaction issue. Current active approaches towards a reliable multi-UAV system are reviewed. This brings us to the conclusion that the multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) control paradigm is segmented into two main scopes: i) autonomous control and coordination within the group of UAVs, and ii) a human centered approach with helping agents and overt behavior monitoring. Therefore, to move further with the future of human-multi-UAV interaction problem, a new perspective is put forth. In the following sections, a brief understanding of the system is provided, followed by the current state of multi-UAV research and how taking the human pilot's physiology into account could improve the interaction. This idea is developed first by detailing what physiological computing is, including mental states of interest and their associated physiological markers. Second, the article concludes with the proposed approach for Human-multi-UAV interaction control and future plans

Customer engagement with digitalized interactive platforms in retailing

Digitalized interactive platforms (DIPs) such as Apple watch, Starbucks apps and Nike+ have seen enormous growth. This study empirically investigates the antecedents and consequences of customer engagement in a digitalized interactive platform of an online shoe retailing start-up. Specifically, we integrate service-dominant logic and self-determination theory to explore the complex relationships between human psychological needs, customer engagement and subjective well-being. We hypothesise that, in case of digitalized interactive platforms, the direct relationship between human psychological needs satisfaction (autonomy, relatedness and competence) and subjective well-being is mediated by customer engagement (cognitive, affective and behavioral). We applied a hybrid SEM-ANN approach to unravel the relationships. Findings show that autonomy and competence have significant relationships with all the dimensions of customer engagement (cognitive, affective and behavioral). Results also show that subjective well-being is not influenced by cognitive engagement but is influenced by affective and behavioral engagement. Theoretical and managerial contributions are discussed

POMDP-based adaptive interaction through physiological computing

In this study, a formal framework aiming to drive the interaction between a human operator and a team of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is experimentally tested. The goal is to enhance human performance by controlling the interaction between agents based on an online monitoring of the operator’s mental workload (MW) and performance. The proposed solution uses MW estimation via a classifier applied to cardiac features. The classifier output is introduced as a human MW state observation in a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) which models the human-system interaction dynamics, and aims to control the interaction to optimize the human agent’s performance. Based on the current belief state about the operator’s MW and performance, along with the mission phase, the POMDP policy solution controls which task should be suggested -or not- to the operator, assuming the UAVs are capable of supporting the human agent. The framework was evaluated using an experiment in which 13 participants performed 2 search and rescue missions (with/without adaptation) with varying workload levels. In accordance with the literature, when the adaptive approach was used, the participants felt significantly less MW, physical and temporal demands, frustration, and effort, and their flying score was also significantly improved. These findings demonstrate how such a POMDP-based adaptive interaction control can improve performance while reducing operator workload

Cognitive Load Assessment During Human-Multi-UAV Interaction

The unpredictable nature of human agents may bring considerable uncertainty to the possible outcomes of human-robot(s) interactions. On one hand, our knowledge of embedded decision algorithms and mission execution monitoring of robotic agents is quite well-known, on the other hand, our understand on human decision’s and human agent’s state monitoring still remains challenging tasks. Therefore, to enhance human-robot interaction in a multi-UAV manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) scenario, and to bring equal weight to the understanding of state-space of all the agents (human and robots) - it is important to have a proper knowledge (e.g. estimation) of human agents’ mental state. In this study we have analyzed cognitive features that are specific to workload-related mental states of human operators who deal with aerial robots. These cognitive features are extracted from electroencephalography (EEG). They specifically consist in voltage modulations elicited at the scalp level by the occurrence of stimuli, such as alarms, and are known as event-related potentials (ERPs). Moreover, an Eye-Tracking (ET) device was also used to acquire gaze data during interaction. Two workload levels (high and low) were addressed in a controlled experimental protocol built upon a search and rescue mission scenario. The results disclosed the usability of such cerebral and visual measures to characterize and discriminate workload states. They pave the way towards systems that would assess agents’ states (human and artificial agents) to further adapt agents’ roles to increase the performance of manned-unmanned teaming