Gompertz: A Scilab Program for Estimating Gompertz Curve Using Gauss-Newton Method of Least Squares

A computer program for estimating Gompertz curve using Gauss-Newton method of least squares is described in detail. It is based on the estimation technique proposed in Reddy (1985). The program is developed using Scilab (version 3.1.1), a freely available scientific software package that can be downloaded from http://www.scilab.org/. Data is to be fed into the program from an external disk file which should be in Microsoft Excel format. The output will contain sample size, tolerance limit, a list of initial as well as the final estimate of the parameters, standard errors, value of Gauss-Normal equations namely GN_1 GN_2 and GN_3, No. of iterations, variance(sigma^2), Durbin-Watson statistic, goodness of fit measures such as R^2, D value, covariance matrix and residuals. It also displays a graphical output of the estimated curve vis a vis the observed curve. It is an improved version of the program proposed in Dastidar (2005).

Corruption in a Model of Vertical Linkage between Formal and Informal Credit Sources and Credit Subsidy Policy

The present paper develops a model of vertical linkage between the formal and informal credit markets highlighting the presence of corruption in the distribution of formal credit. The existing moneylender, the bank official and the new moneylenders move sequentially and the existing moneylender acts as a Stackelberg leader and unilaterally decides on the informal interest rate. The analysis distinguishes between two different ways of designing a credit subsidy policy. If a credit subsidy policy is undertaken through an increase in the supply of institutional credit it is likely to increase the competitiveness in the informal credit market and lower the informal sector interest rate under reasonable parametric restrictions. Any change in the formal sector interest rate has no effect. An anticorruption measure, on the contrary, may be counterproductive and raise the interest rate in the informal credit market.formal/informal credit markets, interest rates

Vertical linkage between formal and informal credit markets: corruption and credit subsidy policy

We develop a model of vertical linkage between the formal and informal credit markets which highlights the presence of corruption in the distribution of formal credit. The existing moneylender, the bank official and the new moneylenders move sequentially and the existing moneylender acts as a Stackelberg leader and unilaterally decides on the informal interest rate. The analysis distinguishes between two different ways of designing a credit subsidy policy. If a credit subsidy policy is undertaken through an increase in the supply of institutional credit, it is likely to increase the competitiveness in the informal credit market and lower the informal sector interest rate under reasonable parametric restrictions. Any change in the formal sector interest rate has no effect. However, an anticorruption measure (increase in penalty) unambiguously lowers the interest rate in the informal credit market. Finally, we examine the effects of alternative policies on the incomes of different economic agents in our model.Formal/informal credit markets, informal interest rate; corruption; credit subsidy policy

An automatic and efficient foreground object extraction scheme

This paper presents a method to differentiate the foreground objects from the background of a color image. Firstly a color image of any size is input for processing. The algorithm converts it to a grayscale image. Next we apply canny edge detector to find the boundary of the foreground object. We concentrate to find the maximum distance between each boundary pixel column wise and row wise and we fill the region that is bound by the edges. Thus we are able to extract the grayscale values of pixels that are in the bounded region and convert the grayscale image back to original color image containing only the foreground object

Managing CMC for global accelerated marketing approvals

In an increasingly complex global regulatory environment, proper planning and where possible, timely engagement with Health Authorities have the potential for up front resolution of potential CMC review issues. Such Health Authority interactions may facilitate faster dossier review and subsequent marketing authorization approval. In this session, a case study of a global new marketing application will be presented. Additionally, a discussion will explore the challenges, including time and resources, associated with in-country testing, which many countries require for imported products. The IFPMA position on waiver of redundant in-country testing will be presented. Success in receiving complete or partial waiver of in-country testing can be achieved, provided it is properly justified and supported by quality systems and controls in place at all stages of the manufacturing and supply chain to assure that products remain fit for their intended use

Glutathione s-transferase p in glucose homeostasis in mice.

High calorie diets have fostered the current pandemic of obesity and comorbid conditions of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), systemic insulin resistance (IR) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Hepatic glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are dysregulated in obesity, NAFLD and diabetes. The multifunctional GST pi isoform (GSTP) catalyzes acrolein metabolism and inhibits JNK (c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase). The purpose of this study was to test specifically whether GSTP deficiency disturbs glucose homeostasis in mice. Hepatic GST proteins were downregulated by short-term high fat diet (HFD) in wild type (WT) mice concomitant with glucose intolerance, increased hepatic JNK activation and protein-acrolein adducts. To address whether GSTP contributes specifically to HFD-induced sequelae, metabolic phenotype of GSTP-null mice was assessed. Body composition, fasted levels of blood glucose and insulin were similar in WT and GSTP-null mice. However, the study revealed that GSTP-null mice were glucose intolerant. GSTP-null mice were glucose intolerant. Furthermore, this defect in glucose homeostasis was due not to peripheral IR but to an impaired capacity to increase plasma insulin level in response to hyperglycemia. In exploring the effect of insufficient insulin release, the pyruvate tolerance test (PTT) revealed greater PTT AUC in GSTP-null mice, indicating enhanced hepatic glucose output. Glucose intolerance was positively correlated with the level of pyruvate intolerance. However, no differences were found in fasting mRNA levels of the gluconeogenic enzymes: phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (Pepck) and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6pc) between WT and GSTP-null livers. Treatment of GSTP-null mice with the JNK inhibitor, SP600125, attenuated hepatic gluconeogenesis compared with vehicle-treated littermate controls. Collectively, these data illustrate a novel role of GSTP in glucose handling via JNK regulation and hepatic gluconeogenesis – a heretofore unrecognized function. Thus, future studies are warranted for studying how GSTP dysregulation influences the metabolic complications of human obesity, NAFLD and diabetes