FDI In the Indian Economy: Determinants and Impact

The purpose of this study is to provide an analysis of the Foreign Direct Investments in India - the various factors that attract investors to India, the impact that such investment has on the domestic economy and the experience of the multinationals with the overall business environment in the sub-continent. India has undergone remarkable international integration and development over the past few years. It was ranked second as the global business destination in 2005. Moreover the government has been actively pursuing liberalisation with the aim to attract more foreign capital. Thus it becomes necessary to study the impact of such inflows as it has important policy implications

IMPLEMENTATION OF QUALITY BY DESIGN (QBD) APPROACH IN FORMULATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF RITONAVIR PELLETS USING EXTRUSION SPHERONIZATION METHOD

Objective: Ritonavir is an antiretroviral drug used for HIV-AIDS treatment. The purpose of this research work was to implement the quality by design (QbD) approach in formulation of ritonavir sustained-release pellets by industrially applied extrusion spheronization technique. Methods: Pellets were prepared by extrusion spheronization method and evaluated for their physicochemical properties. Initially, on the basis of prior knowledge Quality Target Product Profile (QTTP) element was identified and further Critical Quality Attributes (CQA) elements were defined. Risk assessment (RA) was done by two tools as failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) and fishbone diagram (Ishikawa plot). Placket Burman design was implemented as a screening design using seven high-risk factors (spheronization speed, spheronization time, extrusion speed, drying method, PVP K 30, cross povidone, and solvent). Optimization study was done by 23 full factorial design with three critical factors as (spheronization speed, extrusion speed and PVP K 30). The in vitro drug release was studied in both gastric and intestinal fluids for 12 h using USP Ι apparatus. Control space was established for the sustained release pellets. Results: Among all batches obtained in 23 full factorial design, batch R7 was found to be effective with carr’s index value of 5.281, percentage yield of 69.6%, time required to release 50% drug was 8 h and percent drug release after 12 h was found 83.132 %, R7 batch was selected as optimized batch. Statistical analysis showed model terms were significant. Conclusion: We can conclude that; sustained-release pellets of ritonavir were successfully designed using QbD approach

Machining Characteristics and Parametric Optimisation of Inconel 825 during Electric Discharge Machining

This paper presents the machining characteristics and parametric optimisation of Inconel 825 during die-sinking electrical discharge machining (EDM) process. This work considers seven input parameters out of which six are of three levels and one is of one level. Metal removal rate (MRR), tool wear rate (TWR) and surface roughness (SR) have been considered as performance measures. Before carrying out physical experimental runs, the experiments have been designed using Taguchi’s L36 (21 × 36) orthogonal array (OA). In order to identify the significant input parameters, Analysis of Variance has been employed on the experimental data. Discharge current, pulse-on-time, tool material and tool electrode lift time are found as significant input parameters. The effects of these significant parameters on the performance measures have been presented using Taguchi\u27s technique. After machining, study of surface characteristics of the electric discharged machined surface has been carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). These studies help in obtaining the information pertaining to topography of the machined surface, material transfer from tool and dielectric to the machined surface, and presence of extra element and their different phases at the machined surface. It has been found from the research that Carbon, Oxygen, Iron, Nickel, Chromium and little amount of Molybdenum are transferred to the surface of work piece. Further, for the best yield of the process, the optimal combination of input parameters has been obtained and reported using Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) as a multi-objective optimisation technique. Consideration of two different dielectric fluids and three different electrode materials is the novelty of the work

Passive micropump for microfluidics based devices

One of the essential elements of microfluidics is driving liquid flow in microchannels. Device discussed gives a way to pump liquid passively through a microchannel. The present work represents fiber and paper based passive micro-pumping of liquids through microfluidic devices. The porous structure and network of capillaries inside the paper and fiber materials support spontaneous liquid movement. Agarose gel coating is used with paper in order to achieve variations flow rates. The effect of gel concentration on liquid flow is studied. The concept can be used ubiquitously for microfluidics device application. For its low-cost and is feasible to integrate with devices for low resource settings

Physician Attitudes towards use of Digital Health Apps for Chronic Disease Self-management in Clinical Practice

Background: Despite evidence of effectiveness, few primary care providers (PCPs) are recommending digital health apps to support chronic disease management as part of routine practice. Methods: This study explores factors that influence PCP behaviours in recommending digital apps to patients. Study design included interviews with a deductive analysis, grounded in the Theoretical Domains Framework. PCPs were recruited from across Ontario. Results: Interviews from 15 participants resulted in four key themes. While participant’s wanted to use health apps with patients, a lack of knowledge, including knowledge of evidence, the quality of the current evidence and awareness of specific apps limited prescribing. Recommended interventions to increase use including curated lists, integration with the EMR, and peers supports. Conclusions: Our results suggest knowledge gaps are a key barrier to recommending apps, however this could be addressed using targeted interventions. Future work should explore patient attitudes towards the prescribing and use of apps.M.H.Sc

FDI In the Indian Economy: Determinants and Impact

The purpose of this study is to provide an analysis of the Foreign Direct Investments in India - the various factors that attract investors to India, the impact that such investment has on the domestic economy and the experience of the multinationals with the overall business environment in the sub-continent. India has undergone remarkable international integration and development over the past few years. It was ranked second as the global business destination in 2005. Moreover the government has been actively pursuing liberalisation with the aim to attract more foreign capital. Thus it becomes necessary to study the impact of such inflows as it has important policy implications

CFD Analysis of Micro Air Vehicle Propellers

National Aerospace Laboratories is involved in a major program on development of Micro Air Vehicles (MAV) for defence applications. MAVs find extensive use in surveillance, traffic monitoring, forest sensing, survey of biologically hazardous environments, natural disasters etc. Propulsion system of NAL MAVs includes a battery driven miniature motor and a mini propeller. NAL MAV was configured for smooth hand launch; it is configured for a maximum weight of 300 gms, take off thrust of 1.177 Newton and cruise thrust of 0.392 Newton . The thrust to weight ratio would be 0.40. Indigenous design and development of miniature propeller for the NAL MAV was carried out. Wind tunnel tests and flight tests have been carried out for performance evaluation. Considering future requirements and, to save time and cost, 3 dimensional CFD analysis was carried out to validate the aerodynamic parameters of mini propellers with various grids, turbulence models and boundary conditions. FLUENT 6.3 (commercially available CFD tool) was used to compute and compare the aerodynamic parameters of the mini propeller. Boundary layer grids were not used in view of complexity of the problem and time required. This report gives CFD results in 3D environment of the mini propeller version NAL-MAV-PR01. Thrust, torque and power were calculated from computed values of viscous forces, pressure forces and moments. The computed values were compared with that of experimental and the aerodynamic parameters evaluated using Blade Element Momentum Theory (BEMT). The trends of computed values of thrust were in good agreement with the wind tunnel measurements. Measured thrust was slightly higher than the computed values at lower advance ratios and the differences get decreased with the increase in advance ratios

A comparative evaluation of two commercially available formulations of brilliant blue G in idiopathic macular hole surgery

Aim: The aim of this study is to comparatively evaluate “internal limiting membrane (ILM) blue (0.025% brilliant blue G (BBG) +4% polyethylene glycol” and “Brilliant Peel (0.025% BBG + heavy water)” in idiopathic full-thickness macular hole (FTMH) surgery with respect to anatomical and functional outcome and surgical ease of ILM peeling. Materials and Methods: It was a prospective comparative study. Thirty patients with idiopathic FTMH selected for pars-plana vitrectomy with ILM peeling were included in the study. Cataract extraction was combined with vitrectomy if cataract was significant. Fifteen eyes underwent ILM peeling with ILM blue – Group 1 and fifteen eyes with Brilliant Peel – Group 2. The adequacy of ILM staining was noted intraoperatively. All patients followed up next day, at 1 week, 6 weeks, and 3 months. Macular hole closure rate and gain in visual acuity (VA) and contrast sensitivity (CS) were noted. Statistical Analysis: Student's t-test was used to assess the baseline numeric differences among groups. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess VA improvement over time in each group. Chi-square test was used to compare two groups in terms of stage of macular hole. Means test was used to check the effect of lens status in visual recovery. Results: Both groups were well matched in demographic data, baseline VA, stage of macular hole, and percentage of eyes undergoing simultaneous cataract extraction. Macular hole closed in 100% of eyes. Mean pre- and postoperative logMAR best-corrected VA was 0.80 and 0.40 in ILM blue group and 0.993 and 0.527 in the Brilliant Peel group. VA improvement was clinically and statistically significant in both ILM blue (P = 0.004) and Brilliant Peel (P = 0.003) groups. The groups did not differ from each other at 3 months in terms of gain in VA (P = 0.291) and CS. Intraoperatively, both the dyes stained the ILM well. Conclusion: ILM peeling with ILM blue and Brilliant Peel dyes showed comparable intraoperative staining and good postoperative anatomic and functional outcome