Investigating the impact of lean philosophy for identification and reduction of delays associated with performance of production line

In the present world scenario, the rapid industrialization and growth of manufacturing sector has led to the rise of large number of companies focusing on increase in profitability for sustaining the company’s profit margin at a higher level. While most of the companies fail to differentiate between productivity, profitability and performance as all the three growth indicators have different factors affecting them. The productivity of a system is evaluated through the ratio of output and input whereas the profitability is evaluated by measuring the capital flow. But the performance of any system is measured by the speed, quality and time consumed for delivery of a product. Thus, the preliminary growth indicator to be focused by any company must be productivity as it defines the effective input and efficient output of a system or production line and further provide attention for performance. Any productive system to function smoothly must include less amount of wastes, these wastes need not be a particular form. According to lean philosophy there are basically eight wastes arising in a system which has to be considered for elimination or reduction preferably. These wastes not only affect a particular process, while causes negative effects on the performance of entire system by causing delays in the process which increases nonvalue added time and reduces the actual operating time of a process. The present study focuses on exploring lean philosophy for identifying the existing delays of a production system and to further investigate the root causes influencing these delays which effect delivery of product. This study involves a deductive approach of qualitative type of research and the methods used for data collection includes a single case study with systematic literature review of data on which analysis is carried out and derived results are concluded in the final chapter of this research. The conclusion will be based on the results obtained from analysis of data carried out with the aid of tools existing under lean philosophy. The research is concluded by suggesting the solution for reducing delays utilizing simple tools of lean philosophy which can be utilized by manufacturing firms with effective utilization of existing machinery, men and methods and low investment of capital

Myofascial release versus Mulligan sustained natural apophyseal glides’ immediate and short-term effects on pain, function, and mobility in non-specific low back pain

Background Myofascial release (MFR) and Mulligan Sustained Natural Apophyseal Glides (SNAGs) are manual therapy techniques routinely practiced in the management of non-specific low back pain (NSLBP). As a solo intervention or along with other therapies, both methods have reported positive results for individuals with NSLBP. However, which technique improves NSLBP-related pain, restricted range of motion (ROM) and disability, warrants further research. Objective To study the comparative effects of MFR and SNAGs on pain, disability, functional ability, and lumbar ROM in NSLBP. Method A parallel-group study was conducted at tertiary care hospitals. Sixty-five Sub-acute or chronic NSLBP patients were allocated to receive strengthening exercises along with either MFR (n = 33) or SNAGs (n = 32) for six treatment sessions over one week. An independent assessor evaluated outcome measures such as the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Patient-Specific Function Scale (PSFS), and ROM at baseline, immediate (after 1st treatment), and short-term (post-sixth day of the intervention). The Modified Oswestry disability index (MODI) was assessed at baseline and short-term. Results Within-group analysis found clinically and statistically significant (p < 0.05) changes for VAS and PSFS at immediate and short-term for both the groups. The lumbar extension also showed improvement immediately and in the short-term. Improvement in Lumbar flexion was seen only in the SNAGs group over the short-term. A statistically significant improvement was seen for MODI in both the groups but was not clinically significant in the MFR group. The analysis observed no statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between the groups at both the immediate and short-term. Conclusions Pain and restricted function associated with NSLBP can be improved using SNAGs or MFR, along with strengthening exercises. For limited lumbar flexion ROM, Mulligan SNAGs have a better outcome than MFR over the short-term. Hence, both manual therapy techniques can be incorporated along with exercises for immediate and short-term management of sub-acute to chronic NSLBP. Clinical Trial Registration. CTRI/2018/12/016787 (http://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/)

Development of β-carotene rich maize hybrids through marker-assisted introgression of β-carotene hydroxylase allele.

Development of vitamin A-rich cereals can help in alleviating the widespread problem of vitamin A deficiency. We report here significant enhancement of kernel β-carotene in elite maize genotypes through accelerated marker-assisted backcross breeding. A favourable allele (543 bp) of the β-carotene hydroxylase (crtRB1) gene was introgressed in the seven elite inbred parents, which were low (1.4 µg/g) in kernel β-carotene, by using a crtRB1-specific DNA marker for foreground selection. About 90% of the recurrent parent genome was recovered in the selected progenies within two backcross generations. Concentration of β-carotene among the crtRB1-introgressed inbreds varied from 8.6 to 17.5 µg/g - a maximum increase up to 12.6-fold over recurrent parent. The reconstituted hybrids developed from improved parental inbreds also showed enhanced kernel β-carotene as high as 21.7 µg/g, compared to 2.6 µg/g in the original hybrid. The reconstituted hybrids evaluated at two locations possessed similar grain yield to that of original hybrids. These β-carotene enriched high yielding hybrids can be effectively utilized in the maize biofortification programs across the globe

Development of Biofortified Maize Hybrids through Marker-Assisted Stacking of β-Carotene Hydroxylase, Lycopene-ε-Cyclase and Opaque2 Genes

Traditional yellow maize though contains high kernel carotenoids, the concentration of provitamin A (proA) is quite low (&lt;2 μg/g), compared to recommended level (15 μg/g). It also possesses poor endosperm protein quality due to low concentration of lysine and tryptophan. Natural variant of crtRB1 (β-carotene hydroxylase) and lcyE (lycopene-ε-cyclase) cause significant enhancement of proA concentration, while recessive allele, opaque2 (o2) enhances the level of these amino acids. Development of biofortified maize enriched in proA, lysine and tryptophan thus holds significance in alleviation of micronutrient malnutrition. In the present study, marker-assisted stacking of crtRB1, lcyE and o2 was undertaken in the genetic background of four maize hybrids (HQPM1, HQPM4, HQPM5, and HQPM7) popularly grown in India. HP704-22 and HP704-23 were used as donors, while four elite QPM parents viz., HKI161, HKI163, HKI193-1, and HKI193-2 were used as recipients. CrtRB1 showed severe segregation distortion, while lcyE segregated as per the expectation. Recovery of recurrent parent genome (RPG) among selected backcross progenies ranged from 89 to 93%. Introgressed progenies possessed high concentration of proA (7.38–13.59 μg/g), compared to 1.65–2.04 μg/g in the recurrent parents. The reconstituted hybrids showed an average of 4.5-fold increase in proA with a range of 9.25–12.88 μg/g, compared to original hybrids (2.14–2.48 μg/g). Similar plant-, ear-, and grain- characteristics of improved versions of both inbreds and hybrids were observed when evaluated with their respective original versions. Mean lysine (0.334%) and tryptophan (0.080%) of the improved hybrids were at par with the original versions (lysine: 0.340%, tryptophan: 0.083%). Improved hybrids also possessed similar grain yield potential (6,301–8,545 kg/ha) with their original versions (6,135–8,479 kg/ha) evaluated at two locations. This is the first study of staking crtRB1-, lcyE-, and o2-, favorable alleles in single genetic background. The improved inbreds can be effectively used as potential donor for independent and/or simultaneous introgression of crtRB1, lcyE, and o2 in the future breeding programme. These biofortified maize hybrids, rich in proA, lysine and tryptophan will hold great promise for nutritional security

Marker-assisted backcross breeding scheme adapted for the introgression of <i>allele 1</i> of the <i>crtRB1</i> 3′TE gene in to elite parent (V335 and V345) of the maize hybrid Vivek Hybrid-27 (RP: Recurrent Parent; DP: Donor Parent).

<p>Marker-assisted backcross breeding scheme adapted for the introgression of <i>allele 1</i> of the <i>crtRB1</i> 3′TE gene in to elite parent (V335 and V345) of the maize hybrid Vivek Hybrid-27 (RP: Recurrent Parent; DP: Donor Parent).</p

Segregation pattern of alleles of the <i>crtRB1</i> gene in different backcross- and selfed- generations across seven crosses.

<p>*significant at <i>P</i><0.05.</p><p>Segregation pattern of alleles of the <i>crtRB1</i> gene in different backcross- and selfed- generations across seven crosses.</p

Recovery of recurrent parent genome and kernel β-carotene concentration of the MAS-derived parental inbreds used for reconstitution of hybrids.

<p>RP: Recurrent Parent; DP: Donor Parent;</p><p>*- BC₂F₄ generation except for VQL2, which is based on BC₁F₄ generation;</p><p>**- based on BC₂F₁ generation except for VQL2, which is based on BC₁F₁generation;</p><p>***- BC₂F₅ seeds except for VQL2, which is based on BC₁F₅ seeds.</p><p>Recovery of recurrent parent genome and kernel β-carotene concentration of the MAS-derived parental inbreds used for reconstitution of hybrids.</p

Agronomic performance of reconstituted hybrids developed through MAS at Delhi and Dharwad.

<p>DEL: Delhi; DWD: Dharwad.</p><p>Agronomic performance of reconstituted hybrids developed through MAS at Delhi and Dharwad.</p