How are Digital Micro-Influencers Driving the Social Commerce?

Digital micro-influencers (DMIs) seem to drive social commerce as they connect with customers in tier-II towns better than others. The extant literature on the efforts and work processes of DMIs is limited. The present study fills the gap through a qualitative study in India. Using the persuasion knowledge model as a guiding framework, nineteen qualitative in-depth interviews with the DMIs were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis. The study finds that understanding the target (target knowledge) helps DMIs in selecting appropriate brands (topic knowledge) and creating compelling content (persuasion knowledge), leading to social commerce. Also, topic knowledge assists persuasion knowledge. The study further offers insights into the nature of the motivators on the DMIs in the light of organismic integration theory. Theoretical and managerial implications for future research are provided

Two stage Decision Tree Learning from Multi-class Imbalanced Tweets for Knowledge Discovery

Data Mining is an efficient technique for knowledge discovery from existing databases. The existing algorithms performance degrades when applied to the multi class imbalance dataset. The imbalance nature of twitter data set also hinders the process of efficient knowledge discovery. In this paper, we proposed an efficient learning approach for knowledge discovery from multi class imbalance datasets specifically designed for opinion mining. The proposed Under Sampled Imbalance Decision tree Learning (USIDL) approach uses decomposition of multi class into number of binary class samples followed by a unique technique for under sampling the instances from majority subset of each binary sample. The experimental results suggest that the proposed technique performs better than the existing C4.5 algorithm on six evaluation metrics

A Study on Caregiver Stress and Social Support Perceived among Informal Caregivers of Elderly People

INTRODUCTION: Demographic trends have shown an increase in geriatric population. Growing geriatric population with a reciprocal decrease in availability of family care givers has laid down excess of stressors on caregivers. The study is aimed at identifying factors influencing caregiver stress. OBJECTIVES: 1. To estimate the level of caregiver stress as perceived by informal caregivers of elderly people. 2. To identify and analyse the factors influencing caregiver stress. 3. To explore the influence of perceived social support on caregiver stress. METHODOLOGY: A cross sectional study was conducted in Padiyanallur area among 180 caregivers from April 2017 to December2017. Multistage sampling was done. Study tool- 1. Pre-tested validated, semi-structured questionnaire 2. Caregiver Stress Scale (CSS) and 3.Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Data were analysed using SPSS version 16. RESULTS: The prevalence of caregiver stress, P = 43.9% (36.6% – 51.2% CI) Almost half (48%) of the female caregivers were highly stressed (P=0.037). Increase in age of both caregiver and care recipient was correlated with increase in stress (p < 0.007 and p < 0.028 respectively). Spousal caregivers were highly stressed than other relatives (59.3%), (p = 0.007). Caregivers with co – morbid conditions were experiencing high level of stress (60.2%), (p < 0.001). Caregivers lacking social support were highly stressed (77%), (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Most of female caregivers were dependent on earning family members. In the absence of support from family they were more likely to be stressed. In the event of getting older along with emergence of co-morbid conditions, caregiving task might have developed stress within spousal caregivers. Unless the family caregivers were able to extract social support from their families, friends and neighbours, most of them would remain highly stressed

COVID-19 as a Catalyst for Telehealth Growth in India: Some Insights

Telehealth is being rapidly embraced to deal with the COVID-19 health crisis across the world. Despite being a biggest exporter of software services, India has not been a big adopter of telehealth. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled the Indian government to assess the current assets and facilitate the establishment and use of telehealth throughout the country. Different telehealth initiatives are being undertaken in the existing public and private healthcare institutions and patients are increasingly embracing the services. We briefly highlight the potential role played by the start-ups in addressing the challenges.&nbsp

HEPATOPROTECTIVE EVALUATION OF EPALTES DIVARICATA (L.) CASS. WHOLE PLANT EXTRACTS AGAINST PARACETAMOL-INDUCED HEPATOTOXICITY IN RATS

Objective: The plant of Epaltes divaricata (L.) Cass. Traditionally used for jaundice. The present work aimed to investigate the hepatoprotective activity of alcohol and aqueous extract of the whole plant against paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity in rats to substantiate its traditional use.Methods: The alcohol and aqueous (200 and 400 mg/kg) extract of Epaltes divaricata prepared by cold maceration were administered orally to the animals with hepatotoxicity induced by paracetamol (1000 mg/kg). Silymarine (40 mg/k) was given as reference standard. Hepatoprotective activity was assessed by estimating marker enzymes and by histopathological studies.Results: Both alcohol and aqueous (200 and 400 mg/kg) extract treatment significantly restored the paracetamol-induced elevations in levels of serum enzymes aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphate (ALP) and total bilirubin in a dose-dependent manner. Histopathological examination revealed that the treatment attenuated the paracetamol-induced damage to the liver. The hepatoprotective effect of both extracts was comparable to that of the standard hepatoprotective agent, silymarin.Conclusion: The alcohol and aqueous extract of E. divaricata exhibited hepatoprotective effect against paracetamol-induced liver damage in rats. This study also validated their traditional medicinal use in jaundice

An evaluation of functional outcome following surgical management of fractures of the proximal humerus with Neer’s scoring system

Background: Fractures of the proximal humerus are complex injuries associated with significant morbidity. Various options are available for management including non-operative treatment, depending upon the pattern of the fracture, quality of the bone and the surgeon's familiarity with the techniques. The age of the patient, physical activity and the medical fitness also largely influence the treatment options. The aim of this study was to evaluate the functional outcome following surgical management of these fractures and to compare the results with studies as available in literature.Methods: 30 patients with fractures of the proximal humerus managed by surgical means were studied from January 2012 to January 2014 and were followed up for a minimum period of two years.Results: All the fractures treated united clinically by 8 weeks and radiologically by 16 weeks. There were no cases of delayed or non-union in our series. The fractures were more common in men with a gender distribution of 1.3:1 and were also more common in the age group of 50 to 65 years (53%). As per the Neer’s scoring system, 60% patients had excellent results while 33% patients had satisfactory results. They were all pain free and successfully returned to their pre-injury work. 6% patients had an unsatisfactory result. Conclusions: Surgical management of proximal humerus fractures following the principles of articular surface reconstruction, restoration of the anatomy, stable fixation, with minimal injury to the soft tissues and early mobilization, gives good functional results

Effectiveness of Information, Education, Communication package on Quality of Life among patients with Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, fluid coming from the nipple, or a red scaly patch of skin. In those with distant spread of the disease, there may be bone pain, swollen lymph nodes, shortness of breath, or yellow skin. The study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of Information, Education, Communication package on Quality of life among patients with breast cancer at Dr.Kamakshi Memorial Hospital, Chennai. The objective of the study was to determine the effectiveness of information education and communication package on quality of life among patient with breast cancer. The conceptual framework developed for the study was based on modified kings goal attainment theory. An extensive review of literature, professional experience and expert’s guidance helped the investigator to design the methodology. This study was conducted in Dr. Kamakshi Memorial Hospital at Pallikarani, Chennai. The population of the study was patients with breast cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy with the age group of 20-60 years. Purposive sampling technique was selected, one group pretest and post test design was used. The comparison of mean and standard deviation of pre and post test level of quality of life among patients with breast cancer. The mean value of quality of life was increased from 180.72 to 293.75 and standard deviation score increased from 67.55 to 73.53 after administering Information, Education and Communication package on quality of life. The “t” value was 111.289 shows the effectiveness of intervention on quality of life of the patients with breast cancer. The p value is < 0.05 level there is Statistical Significance difference between pre and Post test at 95%