New Product Development Strategies and Methods: Implications for the Indian Readymade Apparel Sector

Today, the intense global competition in the textile and apparel industry made the firms worldwide to be more innovative and competitive by heavily investing into the New Product Development Strategies and Methods. In this context, the present study attempts to (i) understand New Product Development Approaches and Strategies adopted by key global and domestic brands operating in the Indian market and (ii) derive lessons for the development of future models of New Product Development in the Indian Textile and Apparel Industry. The brands have been selected on the basis of their popularity and positioning in the Indian Textile markets

Improving the rate of Early Initiation of breastfeeding in a busy Government Hospital of Central India–A Quality Improvement Study

Background:Early Initiation of Breastfeeding (within 1st hour)  will improve the success with latch/suckling in first days ,timely switch from colostrum to milk production , Improved milk volume at 4 days , 4 weeks, 4 months.Delayed initiation , results in failure to breastfeed leading to faulty IYCF practices and later in life leads to Severemalnutrition. The present rates of early initiation of breastfeeding is 21 % in our setup so there is a need of Quality improvement in this subject.Objectives: To Increase the rate of early initiation of breastfeeding in normal babies (i.e, babies with birthweight> 1800 grams with no perinatal complications)  in a very busy Government Hospital from existing 21% to 60% by 30 days.Design: Quality improvement study. Setting: Labor Room, Operation Theatre and PNWs and Post-Ceaserian wards of a very busy tertiary care Government hospital.Procedure: A team of Final year Post Graduate students of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Post-Graduate student of Pediatrics, analyzed possible reasons for delayed initiation of breastfeeding by Process flow mapping and Fish bone analysis .Various change ideas were tested through sequential Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles.Outcome measure: Proportion of eligible babiesbreast fed within 1 hour of delivery. Results: The rate of first-hour initiation of breastfeeding increased from 21% to 36.7% over the study period. The result was sustained even after the last PDSA cycle, without any additional resources. The study did not achieve the expected goal because of following reasons Time given was less and needed more time for PDSA cycle. Need more training of team members. Lack of communication among team members. Perinatology includes the team of Obstetricians, Pediatricians and Anesthetists coordinate and complementation needed. Conclusion:Proper communication, training, Reinforcements with Posters and Counselling may help in increasing the Early Initiation of Breastfeeding in a busy Government Hospitals. Keywords: Quality Improvement, Breast Feeding, Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle

IN-VITRO FREE-RADICAL SCAVENGING POTENTIAL OF OLIGOPEPTIDES DERIVED FROM WHEAT AND MUNG BEAN

Objective: Therapeutic potential of peptides were well established, but only few information were available on the in vitro antioxidant activities of peptides isolated from wheat and mung bean. Therefore, the aim of this present work is to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant potential of low and high molecular weight oligopeptides separately isolated from one-week old wheat [Triticum aestivum L.] and mung bean [Vigna radiata Wilczek.] seedlings.Methods: Peptides of different molecular weight range were isolated through cryo-crushing followed by solvent partitioning and ion-exchange column and were filtered through the Millipore ultrafiltration system. Purified peptides derived from both samples were assessed for their antioxidant activity.Results: Both ranges of peptides were found to possess significant antioxidant activity. But peptides of low molecular weight (LMW) range (0.5 to 3 kDa) seems to be comparatively more efficient in scavenging free radicals such as DPPH, ABTS+, nitric oxide as well as superoxide than peptides of high molecular weight (HMW), ranging between 3 to 10 kDa. Peptides of LMW from wheat highly responded to metal chelating in comparison to peptides of LMW isolated from mung bean.Conclusion: These peptides may constitute an important part of the antioxidant defense system and could be used for the formulation of Functional foods and Nutraceuticals.Â

Differentially Expressed Genes and Molecular Pathways in an Autochthonous Mouse Prostate Cancer Model

Prostate cancer remains a major public health problem and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men in the United States. The present study aims to understand the molecular pathway(s) of prostate cancer which is essential for early detection and treatment. Dorsolateral prostate from 20 week transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP) mice, which spontaneously develops prostate cancer and recapitulates human disease and age-matched non-transgenic littermates were utilized for microarray analysis. Mouse genome network and pathway analyses were mapped to the human genome using the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) database for annotation, visualization, and integrated discovery. In total, 136 differentially expressed genes, including 32 downregulated genes and 104 upregulated genes were identified in the dorsolateral prostate of TRAMP, compared to non-transgenic mice. A subset of differentially expressed genes were validated by qRT-PCR. Alignment with human genome database identified 18 different classes of proteins, among these, 36% were connected to the nucleic acid binding, including ribosomal proteins, which play important role in protein synthesis—the most enriched pathway in the development of prostate cancer. Furthermore, the results suggest deregulation of signaling molecules (9%) and enzyme modulators (8%) affect various pathways. An imbalance in other protein classes, including transporter proteins (7%), hydrolases (6%), oxidoreductases, and cytoskeleton proteins (5%), contribute to cancer progression. Our study evaluated the underlying pathways and its connection to human prostate cancer, which may further help assess the risk of disease development and progression and identify potential targets for therapeutic intervention

India’s missing working women: Tracing the journey of women’s economic contribution over the last seven decades, and during COVID-19

India today is an economic powerhouse on the global stage. However, it faces a queer conundrum. Despite considerable gains in female education, decreases in fertility rates and increasing economic growth, only a fourth of its women are in the labor force, amongst the lowest in the world. Based on analysis of time series data over the last seven decades (1950-2018), this paper finds that women’s labor force and workforce participation rates have secularly declined to their lowest levels since Independence. Women’s wages have consistently been below men, with weighted average wage gaps increasing from 59% in 1993, to 72% in 2018. The fall in labor force participation has been led by women in rural areas, while female unemployment rates have remained higher than men in urban areas. We find that occupational segregation and concentration of women in low-growth sectors, income effect of rising household earnings, increased mechanization and gender gaps in tertiary education and skill training are leading factors behind the observed labor market outcomes. Recent high-frequency data shows that 15 million women lost their jobs in the first month of the COVID-19 induced lockdown. Even as the overall size of the labor force shrunk by 3% between November 2019 to November 2020, the size of the labor force shrunk by 13% for women, vs. 2% for men. Bringing women back to the workforce requires a differentiated approach, targeting different segments, especially informal workers, microentrepreneurs and the formal sector. Therefore, a diverse mix of targeted policy interventions like gender quotas in public works, easier access to credit for female micro-entrepreneurs, preferential procurement for women-owned business, greater flexibility in workplace arrangements and gender targets for skill training among others would help retain and promote workforce participation for women

'Bhavishya Shakti: Empowering the Future': establishing and evaluating a pilot community mobile teaching kitchen as an innovative model, training marginalised women to become nutrition champions and culinary health educators in Kolkata, India.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is a global emergency, creating an overlapping burden on individual, public and economic health. The double burden of malnutrition affects approximately 2.3 billion adults worldwide. Following 3 years of capacity building work in Kolkata, with assistance of local volunteers and organisations, we established an empowering nutrition education model in the form of a 'mobile teaching kitchen (MTK)' with the aim of creating culinary health educators from lay slum-dwelling women. AIMS: To evaluate the piloting of a novel MTK nutrition education platform and its effects on the participants, alongside data collection feasibility. METHODS: Over 6 months, marginalised (RG Kar and Chetla slums) women underwent nutrition training using the MTK supported by dietitians, doctors and volunteers. Preintervention and postintervention assessments of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP), as well as anthropometric and clinical nutritional status of both the women and their children were recorded. The education was delivered by a 'See One, Do One, Teach One' approach with a final assessment of teaching delivery performed in the final session. RESULTS: Twelve women were trained in total, six from each slum. Statistically significant improvements were noted in sections of KAP, with improvements in nutrition knowledge (+4.8) and practices (+0.8). In addition, statistically significant positive changes were seen in 'understanding of healthy nutrition for their children' (p=0.02), 'sources of protein rich food' (p=0.02) and 'not skipping meals if a child is ill' (p≤0.001). CONCLUSION: The MTK as a public health intervention managed to educate, empower and upskill two groups of lay marginalised women into MTK Champions from the urban slums of Kolkata, India. Improvements in their nutrition KAP demonstrate just some of the effects of this programme. By the provision of healthy meals and nutritional messages, the MTK Champions are key drivers nudging improvements in nutrition and health related awareness with a ripple effect across the communities that they serve. There is potential to upscale and adapt this programme to other settings, or developing into a microenterprise model, that can help future MTK Champions earn a stable income

Effect of Cold Stress on Pyridostigmine Pretreated Rats Exposed to an Organophosphorous Compound

Context: Pyridostigmine bromide (PB) is a quaternary ammonium compound and has been approved as a pretreatment drug against toxic organophosphorous (OP) compounds. The stressful demands of modern military activity include a broad range of activities at extreme cold temperatures along with various physical activities. Objective: The effect of “sign free” dose of PB (0.075 mg/kg body weight) against a toxic OP compound diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) was reassessed in rats. Electrocardiographic (ECG) studies in hypothermic and pretreatment conditions were undertaken to assess the cardioprotective role of PB. Total Antioxidant Status (TAS) was quantified to assess the degree of oxidative stress imposed under such conditions. Possible protective role of pyridostigmine in rat lymphocytes was also determined.Materials& Methods: TAS was estimated spectrophotometrically and the expression of interferon-γ (IFNγ) was measured by Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting. ECG was monitored by standard protocol.Results: ECG recording showed that the PR and QT interval progressively increased along with widening of QRS complex. There was a progressive fall in heart rate as the body temperature decreased. TAS significantly decreased (p≤0.001) in hypothermic conditions and when pretreated with sign free dose of PB before cold induction (p≤0.001). Following immunostaining of lymphocytes by FITC conjugated mouse anti-rat IFNγ monoclonal antibody, 9.1% of lipopolysaccharide elicited parent cells showed positive IFNγ expression. Hypothermic stress inhibited IFNγ expression (3.6% of parent cells) which was recovered to 6.8% upon pre-treatment with sign-free dose of pyridostigmine. Conclusion: This study is indicative of a possible protective role of PB against hypothermic stress

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Plant and Dairy-Based Yogurts: A Comparison of Consumer Sensory Acceptability Linked to Textural Analysis

Yogurt, readily available in plant and dairy-based formulations, is widely consumed and linked with health benefits. This research is aimed to understand the sensory and textural spectrum of commercially available dairy and plant-based yogurts. In a preliminary study, qualitative focus group discussions (4 groups; n = 32) were used to determine perceptions of 28 dairy and plant-based yogurts, identifying positive consumer perceptions of plant-based yogurts. A smaller subset of five spoonable and one drinkable yogurts—(Reference, Soy, Coconut, Cookies, Berry, and Drinkable) was subsequently selected for rheological and structural measurements, showing wide variations in the microstructure and rheology of selected yogurt samples. A quantitative blind sensory tasting (n = 117) showed varying yogurt acceptability, with Berry being the least-liked and Cookies being the most-liked yogurt, in terms of overall liking. The multi-factor analysis confirmed that compositional and textural elements, including protein content, gel firmness, and consistency coefficient, displayed a positive relationship with overall liking. In contrast, fat, sugar, and calories were negatively correlated to the overall liking. This research showed that texture and other compositional factors are significant determinants of the consumer acceptability of yogurt products and are essential properties to consider in product development

Impact of lifestyle pattern on energy consumption and carbon emissions - A view from India

Abstract: There is a clear link between the patterns of lifestyles that individuals or households lead and its impact on energy consumption and emissions. Historically it has been the developed countries that have accounted for high levels of energy consumption. However, with a growth in population and urbanization, per capita emissions from the more affluent segment of the household sector in some developing countries are gradually converging towards those recorded in developed countries. The present study by looking at the city of Kolkata aims to underline this link. By conducting 200 surveys across various income groups in the city and looking at the transport and residential sectors only, it is found that a middle income household in Kolkata has a carbon footprint almost equal to the world average, where as a high income household has a carbon footprint nearly half of that of an average US citizen and nearly equal to an average UK citizen. The paper also discusses the policy issues and implementation barriers for these two sectors in India and compare with the policy initiatives in Japan. Finally it is suggested that unless government sets an example and makes sustainable lifestyles possible through its strategies and operating practices, the country will not be able to overcome consumer inertia