Analysis of the New Six Monthly Distribution Strategy for Food Grains: A Study of Public Distribution System of Indian Punjab

The audience will get an insight into the value stream of PDS for food grains in Indian Punjab, the key stakeholders of the system, and the impact of the new policy on these stakeholders. Furthermore the factors affecting the adoption of the new policy among the beneficiaries will be discussed

A theoretical model on how firms can leverage political resources to align with supply chain strategy for competitive advantage

The success of a firm's supply chain strategy depends on resources in the political environment and the supply network in which it operates. If the political environment is not conducive to a firm's supply chain strategy, a firm can either change its supply chain strategy or seek a political environment that is more favorable to its supply chain. This paper examines this second alternative. The structure-conduct-performance (SCP) paradigm and the competitive dynamics literature are used to explore the relationships between political actions that leverage supply network resources, supply chain strategies, and firm performance. We extend a well-known typology of political actions from the strategic management literature and suggest that beyond influencing or complying with the political environment, firms may choose to moderate the political environment (circumvent or submit) or stay neutral (free ride). An integrated model is developed to explore the relationships between political actions and supply chain strategy, along with a series of propositions outlining how political actions can facilitate supply chain risk management strategies. Finally, suggestions are provided for future research.https://doi.org/10.1111/jscm.1228

Association studies of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene with schizophrenia and response to antipsychotic treatment

Aim: We investigated the catechol-O-methyltrasferase (COMT) gene, which is a strong functional and positional candidate gene for schizophrenia and therapeutic response to antipsychotic medication. Materials & methods: Single-locus as well as detailed haplotype-based association analysis of the COMT gene with schizophrenia and antipsychotic treatment response was carried out using seven COMT polymorphisms in 398 schizophrenia patients and 241 healthy individuals from a homogeneous south Indian population. Further responsiveness to risperidone treatment was assessed in 117 schizophrenia patients using Clinical Global Impressions (CGI). A total of 69 patients with a CGI score of 2 or less met the criteria of good responders and 48 were patients who continued to have a score of 3 and above and were classified as poor responders to risperidone treatment. Results: The association of SNP rs4680 with schizophrenia did not remain significant after adjusting for multiple testing. Haplotype analysis showed highly significant association of seven COMT marker haplotypes with schizophrenia (CLUMP T4 p-value=0.0001). Our results also demonstrated initial significant allelic associations of two SNPs with drug response (rs4633: χ2=4.36, p-value=0.036, OR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.03-3.15; and rs4680: χ2=4.02, p-value=0.044, OR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.01-3.06) before multiple correction. We employed two-marker sliding window analysis for haplotype association and observed a significant association of markers located between intron 1 and intron 2 (rs737865, rs6269: CLUMP T4 p-value=0.021); and in exon 4 (rs4818, rs4680: CLUMP T4 p-value=0.028) with drug response. Conclusion: The present study thus indicates that the interacting effects within the COMT gene polymorphisms may influence the disease status and response to risperidone in schizophrenia patients. However, the study needs to be replicated in a larger sample set for confirmation, followed by functional studies