Information systems evaluation: Mini-track introduction

abreast of technological innovations. Yet, companies are becoming more aware that a competitive advantage can not be achieved, or even maintained by utilizing the latest technology. Indeed, it is becoming more apparent that a strategic competitive advantage will not be achieved through embraced technology alone but, in the way companies approach the evaluation, management and exploitation of their human, organizational and technology based assets and infrastructure. In support of this, Sohal et al. (2001) reported the results of a large-scale survey that demonstrated the limited Information Technology (IT) enabled business benefits resulting in service and manufacturing sectors. The survey highlighted that many of the benefits achieved through adopting IT/IS were limited to improvements in productivity and cost alone. Clearly, such results are surprising given the emphasis the normative literature has placed on the strategic benefits achievable from IT/IS. As a result of the far reaching conclusions reported by Sohal et al. (2001), many organisational have begun to question the scope and depth of those IT-enabled business benefits that are not achieved by those companies proactively adopting IT/IS

Ethnomedicinal uses of Sthalavrikshas (temple trees) in Tamil Nadu, southern India

Worship of plants is practiced throughout the world and is well established from pre-historic periods in India. In Tamil Nadu state, India this customary practice follows with religious faiths and culture. One such religious worship is known as Sthalavriksha (sthal: locality, vriksha: tree) in temples. Very few field studies have been conducted on Sthalavriksha practice and its role in social, ecological and environmental impacts of local people. In particular, ethnomedicinal uses on Sthalavrikshas, occurring in the temples of Tamil Nadu have been unexplored. A survey was conducted at 1165 ancient temples of the state and revealed the occurrence of 112 plant species during 2002-2006. At the time of study, several ethnomedicinal uses of 101 Sthalavriksha species were recorded by both direct observations and referred to by devotees, priests and Nattuvaidyas (traditional healers) in the temples

Yield and quality improvement in Bt cotton through foliar application of trifloxystrobin and tebuconazole

In agriculture, fungi can cause serious damage, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality and profit. Fungicides help in reducing the damage caused by fungus, reduce the yield loss and play a major role in quality improvement. The present investigation was carried out at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University to evaluate the influence of trifloxystrobin 50% + tebuconazole 25% (Nativo 75WG) on the yield and quality improvement on Bunny hybrid Bt cotton.  Nativo 75WG was applied on the leaves of cotton plants at 40-60 (DAS) and 60-80 (DAS) at the concentration of 250, 300, 350 g/ha and Carbendazim @ 500 g/ha.  The observations recorded were related to yield and quality attributes in all treatments. The application of Nativo @ 300 g/ha showed a significant increase in boll weight (4.86 g), lint yield per boll (3.86 g boll-1) and lint per plant (138.48 g plant -1) than other treatments. With respect to seed cotton yield and harvest index (0.37 %), the Nativo @ 300 g/ha registered a higher yield (20.2 %) and HI than control under the irrigated situation. Foliar application of treatments during the flowering stage (40-60 DAS) and boll formation stages (60-80 DAS) had increased the quality parameters such as fiber length (2.5% staple length, 50 % staple length) and fiber strength. Further, the foliar spray of  Nativo @ 300 g/ha applied to bunny hybrid Bt cotton had resulted in a higher yield (2920.15 kg ha-1) due to an increase in leaf area index, greenness of leaf and higher dry matter production of the plant

(±)-trans-5-Benzoyl-2-(1H-indol-3-yl)-4-phenyl-4,5-dihydro­furan-3-carbonitrile

The furan ring in the title compound, C26H18N2O2, is twisted about the C(H)—C(H) bond. The mol­ecular structure is stabilized by an intra­molecular C—H⋯O inter­action, which generates an S(6) ring motif. The presence of N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds leads to inversion dimers, which are stabilized in the crystal packing by C—H⋯O and C—H⋯π inter­actions, forming layers that stack along the a axis

Vibrio alginolytigus causing shell disease in the mud crab Scylla serrata (Forskal 1775)

1359-1363Scylla serrata is one of the most cultured mud crab species in the aquaculture which is also susceptible to shell disease. In the present study, Vibrio alginolyticus MF680287.1 caused by shell disease and isolated from infected mud crab S. serrata grow out pond located at Mahendrapalli, Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India. Further, gross observation of infected mud crab showed shell lesion on the dorsal carapace. The histological examination of normal and diseased mud crab S. serrata carapace and gills was conducted. The shell lesion affected in the S. serrata carapace layers showed loss of membrenous layer and epithilium. The bacterial colonies were abundant in the cuticle. The gill lamellae showed cuticlar damage in the formation of haemocyte nodules and eosinophilic granular cells

Multi-agent system with iterative auction mechanism for master bay plan problem in marine logistics

The support of containerization to trade development demands an efficient solution method for the container loading problem in order to reduce shipment and handling time. Hence, the stowage planning of containers is critical to provide speedy delivery of resources from the area of supply to the area of demand. Moreover, information on container terminal activities, structure of ship, and characteristics of containers is distributed among stowage planners. This information imposes constraints, and so the master bay plan problem (MBPP) becomes NP-hard. Therefore, a multi-agent systems (MAS) methodology is designed to effectively communicate the information and solve the MBPP sustainably. In the designed MAS methodology, an information exchange system (IES) is created for stowage planners to bid for ship slots in each experimental iterative combinatorial auction (ICA) market. The winner in the ICA experiments is provided with the ship slots, and the entire bay plan is prepared. Further, the ship-turnaround time is validated using the data obtained from the benchmark problem

Nil Intervention is at Times the Best Intervention: Benign emptying of pneumonectomy space

A sudden drop of air-fluid level in the pneumonectomy space in the absence of a bronchopleural fistula and pleural infection is termed benign emptying of the post pneumonectomy space (BEPS). We herein report a case of benign emptying of pneumonectomy space, briefly review the literature and enumerate possible mechanisms for the same. It is an extremely rare entity and follows a benign course. Patients with BEPS are clinically stable, afebrile with no fluid expectoration, and have a normal white blood cell count. Bronchoscopy reveals an intact bronchial stump and pleural fluid cultures are often sterile. Close monitoring and early detection of a bronchopleural fistula is the management. Clinicians should keep BEPS among the differential diagnosis in case of a drop in the air-fluid level of the post pneumonectomy space. Awareness of this entity is crucial as it helps prevent unnecessary and morbid surgical interventions. Keywords: Pneumonectomy; BEPS; Bronchopleural Fistula; India

Crystal structure of [4-(2-methoxyphenyl)-3-methyl-1-phenyl-6-trifluoromethyl-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridin-5-yl](thiophen-2-yl)methanone

The title compound, C[subscript 26]H[subscript 18]F[subscript 3]N[subscript 3]O[subscript 2]S, a 2-meth­oxy-substituted derivative, is closely related to its 4-methyl- and 4-chloro-substituted analogues and yet displays no structural relationships with them. The thio­phene ring is disorder free and the -CF[subscript 3] group exhibits disorder, respectively, in contrast and similar to that observed in the 4-methyl- and 4-chloro-substituted derivatives. The torsion angle which defines the twist of the thio­phene ring is -69.6 (2)° (gauche) in the title compound, whereas it is anti­clinal in the 4-methyl- and 4-chloro-substituted derivatives, with respective values of 99.9 (2) and 99.3 (2)°. The absence of disorder in the thio­phene ring facilitates one of its ring C atoms to participate in the lone inter­molecular C-H...O hydrogen bond present in the crystal, leading to a characteristic C(5) chain graph-set motif linking mol­ecules related through glides along [010]. An intra­moleculr C-H...N hydrogen bond also occurs