India’s medical tourism analysis and forecasting

The paper deals with India Medical tourism analysis and forecasting, applying an assortment of time series forecasting models, for monthly data spreading over 2014 to 2018. Medical tourism worldwide and in India is on rise. Figures of medical tourist arrivals in India for 2014, 2015 and 2016 suggest of a significant growth. A number of measures have been taken by the Government to attract medical tourists to the country. This study was undertaken to analyse the growth trends in medical tourism in India over a period of last five years and also to project the medical tourist arrivals over the next couple of years using the sophisticated ARIMA method of trend projection. The paper discusses these trends including their calculations. The projections show a great potential for the country to earn valuable foreign exchange through medical tourism. India has a huge cost and expertise advantage which if leveraged through proper publicity can make it one of the leading medical tourist destinations in the days to come. The Government should step-up its efforts in this direction with aggressive publicity policies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effects of Rural Land Tenure on Rice Productivity in Female-Headed Households in Enugu State, Nigeria

The study was conducted in Enugu State in eastern part of Nigeria. The objectives were to: determine the socio-economic characteristics of female-headed rice producing households; investigate land tenure systems under which households cultivate rice, and determine the effects of land tenure on rice productivity. A 3-stage random sampling procedure was used to select One Hundred and Twenty respondents in three Local Government Areas which were chosen purposively due to wide spread cultivation of rice in the areas. Data collected via validated structured questionnaire were analysed using descriptive statistics such as means and percentages to summarise the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, and land tenure systems. Ordinary Least Squares regression technique was used to determine the effects of land tenure system on rice productivity. Results show that majority (46.7%) of female heads of households were aged between 41 and 54 years with a mean of 50.Average years of  farm experience,  and formal education of the respondents were respectively 8, and 6. About 42%, 25%, 16%, and 41% of the households accessed farmland through communal, State, Purchase, and leasehold respectively. Socio-economic, and land tenure factors jointly had significant (F=42.227, P < 0.01) influence on rice productivity. The productivities were higher on public lands than privately, and communally accessed and cultivated lands. Communal land tenure practice had significantly (P< 0.05) negative effects on productivity.Productivity gains of about 1.31% were observed under public land tenure systems, whereas 3.54% and 3.44% losses in rice productivity were found respectively under communal, and private land tenure arrangements per hectare. There is need to review Nigeria’s land Tenure Act 1978 to offer unrestricted, adequate land access to small farmers. Keywords: Rural Land Tenure, Enugu State, Productivity, Female-headed Household

Resource Allocation Challenges and Strategies for RF-Energy Harvesting Networks Supporting QoS

This paper specifically addresses the resource allocation challenges encountered in wireless sensor networks that incorporate RF energy harvesting capabilities, commonly referred to as RF-energy harvesting networks (RF-EHNs). RF energy harvesting and transmission techniques bring substantial advantages for applications requiring Quality of Service (QoS) support, as they enable proactive replenishment of  wireless devices. We commence by providing an overview of RF-EHNs, followed by an in-depth examination of the resource allocation challenges associated with this technology. In addition, we present a case study that focuses on the design of an efficient operating strategy for RF-EHN receivers. Our investigation highlights the critical aspects of service differentiation and QoS support, which have received limited attention in previous research. Besides, we explore previously unexplored areas within these domains

Probiotic supplementation influences the diversity of the intestinal microbiota during early stages of farmed Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis, Kaup, 1858)

Ingestion of bacteria at early stages results in establishment of a primary intestinal microbiota which likely undergoes several stages along fish life. The role of this intestinal microbiota regulating body functions is crucial for larval development. Probiotics have been proved to modulate this microbiota and exert antagonistic effects against fish pathogens. In the present study, we aimed to determine bacterial diversity along different developmental stages of farmed Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) after feeding probiotic (Shewanella putrefaciens Pdp11) supplemented diet for a short period (10–30 days after hatching, DAH). Intestinal lumen contents of sole larvae fed control and probiotic diets were collected at 23, 56, 87, and 119 DAH and DNA was amplified using 16S rDNA bacterial domain-specific primers. Amplicons obtained were separated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), cloned, and resulting sequences compared to sequences in GenBank. Results suggest that Shewanella putrefaciens Pdp11 induces a modulation of the dominant bacterial taxa of the intestinal microbiota from 23 DAH. DGGE patterns of larvae fed the probiotic diet showed a core of bands related to Lactobacillus helveticus, Pseudomonas acephalitica, Vibrio parahaemolyticus,and Shewanella genus, together with increased Vibri o genus presence. In addition, decreased number of clones related to Photobacterium damselae subsp piscicida at 23 and 56 DAH was observed in probiotic-fed larvae. A band corresponding to Shewanella putrefaciens Pdp11 was sequenced as predominant from 23 to 119 DAH samples, confirming the colonization by the probiotics. Microbiota modulation obtained via probiotics addition emerges as an effective tool to improve Solea senegalensis larviculture.En prens

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

Forecasting and estimation of medical tourism demand in India

The paper deals with India’s Medical tourism analysis and forecasting, apply-ing two time series forecasting models, for monthly data spreading over 2014 to 2017. Medical tourism worldwide and particularly in India is on rise. Fig-ures of medical tourist arrivals in India for 2014, 2015 and 2016 denotes a significant growth. Several measures have been taken by the Government to attract medical tourists to the country. This study was undertaken to analyse the growth trends in medical tourism in India over a period of last four years and to forecast the medical tourist arrivals over the next couple of years us-ing the ARIMA method for trend projection. The paper discusses these trends and the application of the model. The projections show a great poten-tial for the country to earn valuable foreign exchange through medical tour-ism. India has a huge cost and expertise advantage which if leveraged through proper publicity can make it one of the leading medical tourist des-tinations in the days to come. It is suggested that the authorities should take efforts in this direction with aggressive publicity policies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Internal and external drivers for quality certification in the service industry: Do they have different impacts on success?

This paper presents the results of a study of hotels that are certified for quality management to identify the reasons for seeking quality certification. The authors analyse whether internal or external drivers for seeking certification have different impacts on benefits and the use of quality tools in the hotel industry. The analysis groups hotels according to the importance of their internal reasons for certification, and uses cluster analysis to identify the significant differences between groups of hotels. The findings for the 32 hotels analysed show that hotels that pursued certification for internal reasons develop better quality tools and have increased levels of benefit