DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF FAST DISSOLVING TABLETS OF ERGOTAMINE TARTARATE

Objective: The main objective of this study was to formulate and evaluate the fast dissolving tablets of ergotamine tartarate with synthetic superdisintegrants. Methods: Various formulations were prepared by direct compression method using different concentrations of crospovidone (12.5%-62.5%) and croscarmallose sodium (12.5%-62.5%) as superdisintegrants. Formulations were evaluated for precompressional parameters and postcompressional parameters like uniformity of weight, thickness, hardness, friability, drug content, wetting time, the water absorption ratio, in vitro disintegration time and in vitro dissolution study. Results: Results revealed that among the 10 formulations, the formulation F5 containing 62.5% of crospovidone and formulation F10 containing 62.5% of croscarmallose sodium was found to be promising formulations. F5 shown disintegration time of 12 seconds and the drug release was up to 96% in 30 minutes and F10 shown disintegration time of 18 seconds and the drug release was up to 89% in 30 minutes. Conclusion: From the result obtained, it can be concluded that formulation of fast dissolving tablet using crospovidone as a superdisintegrant showed improved disintegration and solubility and hence better patient complianc

Optimal control of production and maintenance operations in smart custom manufacturing systems with multiple machines

Enterprises equipped with IoT (Internet of Things) are the new generation of manufacturing industry. There is a need for new optimization models which incorporate the advantages of IoT. In this paper, a new mathematical model and heuristic algorithm are developed to minimize the total cost in a multiple machine environment which enables the industries to take economically better decisions and effectively use their resources. A heuristic algorithm is developed for identical machines which process with the same tool. A system in which jobs with stochastic workloads arrive randomly and upon arrival, their workload is facilitated by IoT. The proposed algorithm determines the assignment of workload to the machine and processing speed. The algorithm works for both online and offline frameworks

Green food supply chain design considering risk and post-harvest losses: a case study

The global food insecurity, malnourishment and rising world hunger are the major hindrances in accomplishing the zero hunger sustainable development goal by 2030. Due to the continuous increment of wheat production in the past few decades, India received the second rank in the global wheat production after China. However, storage capacity has not been expanded with similar extent. The administrative bodies in India are constructing several capacitated silos in major geographically widespread producing and consuming states to curtail this gap. This paper presents a multi-period single objective mathematical model to support their decision-making process. The model minimizes the silo establishment, transportation, food grain loss, inventory holding, carbon emission, and risk penalty costs. The proposed model is solved using the variant of the particle swarm optimization combined with global, local and near neighbor social structures along with traditional PSO. The solutions obtained through two metaheuristic algorithms are compared with the optimal solutions. The impact of supply, demand and capacity of silos on the model solution is investigated through sensitivity analysis. Finally, some actionable theoretical and managerial implications are discussed after analysing the obtained results

Modelling supply chain network for procurement of food grains in India

The procurement of food grains from farmers and their transportation to regional level has become decisive due to increasing food demand and post-harvest losses in developing countries. To overcome these challenges, this paper attempts to develop a robust data-driven supply chain model for the efficient procurement of food grains in India. Following the data collected from three leading wheat producing Indian regions, a mixed-integer linear programming model is formulated for minimising total supply chain network costs and determining number and location of procurement centres. The NK Hybrid Genetic Algorithm (NKHGA) is employed to cluster the villages, along with a novel density-based approach to optimise the supply chain network. Sensitivity analysis indicates that policymakers should focus on creating an adequate number of procurement centres in each surplus state, well before the start of the harvesting season. The study is expected to benefit food grain supply chain stakeholders such as farmers, procurement agencies, logistics providers and government bodies in making an informed decision

Identification of nursing assessment models/tools validated in clinical practice for use with diverse ethno-cultural groups: an integrative review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High income nations are currently exhibiting increasing ethno-cultural diversity which may present challenges for nursing practice. We performed an integrative review of literature published in North America and Europe between 1990 and 2007, to map the state of knowledge and to identify nursing assessment tools/models which are have an associated research or empirical perspective in relation to ethno-cultural dimensions of nursing care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data was retrieved from a wide variety of sources, including key electronic bibliographic databases covering research in biomedical fields, nursing and allied health, and culture, e.g. CINAHL, MEDline, PUBmed, Cochrane library, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and HAPI. We used the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tools for quality assessment. We applied Torraco's definition and method of an integrative review that aims to create new knowledge and perspectives on a given phenomena. To add methodological rigor with respect to the search strategy and other key review components we also used the principles established by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirteen thousand and thirteen articles were retrieved, from which 53 full papers were assessed for inclusion. Eight papers met the inclusion criteria, describing research on a total of eight ethno-cultural assessment tools/models. The tools/models are described and synthesized.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>While many ethno-cultural assessment tools exist to guide nursing practice, few are informed by research perspectives. An increased focus on the efficiency and effectiveness of health services, patient safety, and risk management, means that provision of culturally responsive and competent health services will inevitably become paramount.</p

The risk of metabolic syndrome as a result of lifestyle among Ellisras rural young adults

The study aimed to investigate the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and lifestyle risk factors among Ellisras adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 624 adults (306 males and 318 females). MetS was defined according to the criteria of the International Diabetes Federation. The prevalence of MetS was 23.1% (8.6% males and 36.8 % females). Females appeared to have higher mean values for waist circumference (WC), fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol (TCHOL) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), while males had high mean values for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). No significant age and gender differences were observed for dietary intake. Significantly more females (51.9%) presented with increased WC than males (4.6%). Participants who had a high dietary energy intake were significantly less likely to present with larger WC (OR: 0.250 95% CI [0.161; 0.389]), low HDL-C (OR: 0.306 95% CI [0.220; 0.425]) and high LDL-C (OR: 0.583 95% CI [0.418; 0.812]) but more likely to present with elevated FBG (OR: 1.01 95% CI [0.735; 1.386]), high TCHOL (OR: 1.039 95% CI [0.575; 1.337]), high TG (OR: 1.186 95% CI [0.695; 2.023]) and hypertension (OR: 5.205 95% CI [3.156; 8.585]). After adjusting for age, gender, smoking, and alcohol status, high energy intake was more than two times likely to predict MetS in adults with a large WC (OR: 2.766 95% CI [0.863; 3.477] and elevated FBG (OR: 2.227 95% CI [1.051; 3.328]). Therefore, identifying groups that are at an increased risk and those that are in their early stages of MetS will help improve and prevent the increase of the MetS in the future

Multi-objective modelling of sustainable closed-loop supply chain network with price-sensitive demand and consumer’s incentives

Closed-loop supply chains (CLSCs) are essential for maximising the value creation over the entire life cycle of a product. The design of these networks is increasing due to growing online businesses and rising sustainability awareness. This study develops a multi-objective optimisation model for sustainable CLSC network problem considering supply chain’s inherent complexity (multi-echelon, multi-product, multi-mode and multi-period nature) along with price-sensitive demand, consumer’s incentives and different quality levels of product. The proposed model seeks to optimise total cost and carbon emissions generated by production, distribution, transportation, and disposal activities. A two-stage algorithm, through the integration of the Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) and Co-Kriging approach is utilised to determine the trade-off between costs and carbon emissions in the CLSC network. Data collected from a leading European household appliance company was used to analyse and interpret the developed model. The results show that the proposed two-stage approach provides robust outcomes and is computationally less expensive than the epsilon constraint approach. The study evidences the positive effects of incentive pricing on returned goods in the reverse logistics network and provides multiple trade-off solutions for supply chain managers to make informed decisions

Designing a sustainable freight transportation network with cross-docks

This study aims to develop a sustainable freight transportation network considering capacitated cross-docks for minimising the overall supply chain costs, including carbon emission cost. The problem is inspired by a major retail company based in India, which would like to expand its product portfolio in the new region. A mathematical model is developed to minimise total costs encompassing transportation cost, pipeline and retailers inventory cost, fixed cost of cross-dock and carbon emission costs. The deterministic time dependant demand, multiple products and multiple sourcing and distribution are some of the challenges faced by the retail industry. A two-level self-adaptive variable neighbourhood search algorithm is applied to solve a computationally complex problem. The results based on a two-level self-adaptive variable neighbourhood search algorithm are compared with the variable neighbourhood search algorithm to test the robustness of the developed model. Results reveal that an increase in retailers over suppliers significantly influences the number of open cross-docks. A multiple-case scenario approach captures the implications of varying capacity on the number of open cross-docks; thus, supporting the freight distribution managers in making sustainability-driven decisions

Multi-period multi-echelon inventory transportation problem considering stakeholders behavioural tendencies

An inventory transportation problem of manufacturing organization focusing on several stakeholders such as manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers and customers is addressed in this paper. The research study considered multi-echelon, multi-product, multi-modal and multi-period scenario. The mathematical model in the form of mixed integer non-linear programming is formulated to minimize the total cost associated with transportation, inventory holding and operational activities. A mathematical formulation based heuristic approach, which comprises of four algorithms, is proposed for solving purpose. The proposed heuristic approach considers the behavioural tendencies of stakeholders pertaining to the selection of shipment routes, transportation mode choice decisions and amount of products to be shipped. Fifteen practical problem instances are solved by using the developed heuristic approach while considering the behavioural aspects of stakeholders. Insights obtained from results will be beneficial for manufacturing organizations in making informed decisions related to transportation planning considering stakeholder's behavioural tendencies