ACTIVITY BASED COSTING FOR BETTER COST MANAGEMENT

Implementing change in management, successfully and profitably, is the greatest challenge for modern enterprises. Innovation in strategies, marketing performance, role of competition, change in technology, change in customer needs, management initiatives are all facts of life in the global environment today. Cost management works with its customer to manage change more profitably. Activity-Based Costing (ABC) is a new methodology of product costing which measures the cost of products more accurately. Overhead allocation is much more sophisticated under this system. This paper attempts to highlight the need, importance and methodology of ABC for better Cost Management in modern enterprises.Cost management; Cost and activity drivers; Activity based costing (ABC); ABC implementation; ABC applications

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of Novel 3-[1-(3-nitrophenyl)-ethyl]-1-(indole-1-yl) Substituted Aryl/alkyl-phosphinoyl/thiophosphinoyl/ selenophosphinoyl-1H-indole Derivatives

Syntheses of novel 3-[1-(3-nitrophenyl)-ethyl]-1-(indole-1-yl) substituted aryl/alkyl phosphinoyl/thiophosphinoyl/selenophosphinoyl-1H-indole derivatives were accomplished in two steps. The synthetic route involves the cyclisation of equimolar quantities of 3-[1H-3-indolyl(3-nitrophenyl)methyl]-1H-indole with dichlorophenyl phosphine/ethyldichlorophosphite in the presence of triethylamine in dry acetonitrile at room temperature. These compounds were further converted to the corresponding oxides, sulphides and selenides by reacting them with hydrogen peroxide, sulphur and selenium, respectively. The structures of the novel products were established by elemental analyses, IR, 1H, 13C and 31P NMR and mass spectroscopy. They were screened for antibacterial and antifungal activity against Staphylococcus aureus/Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pellicularia solmanicolor/Macrophomina phaseolina, respectively.Keywords: Bisindolylalkanes, alkyl/aryl phosphorodichloridates, antimicrobial activit

Plasma chemokines are biomarkers of disease severity, higher bacterial burden and delayed sputum culture conversion in pulmonary tuberculosis

Plasma cytokines are biomarkers of disease extent and mycobacterial burden in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Whether chemokines can perform the same role in PTB is not known. We examined the plasma levels of chemokines in individuals with PTB, latent TB (LTB) or healthy controls (HC) and their association with disease severity and mycobacterial burdens in PTB. We also examined the chemokines in PTB individuals at the end of anti-tuberculous chemotherapy (ATT). PTB individuals exhibited significantly higher levels of CCL1, CCL3, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL9 and CXCL10 in comparison to LTB and/or HC individuals. PTB individuals with bilateral or cavitary disease displayed significantly elevated levels of CCL1, CCL3, CXCL1, CXCL10 and CXCL11 compared to those with unilateral or non-cavitary disease and also exhibited a significant positive relationship with bacterial burdens. In addition, PTB individuals with slower culture conversion displayed significantly elevated levels of CCL1, CCL3, CXCL1 and CXCL9 at the time of PTB diagnosis and prior to ATT. Finally, the chemokines were significantly reduced following successful ATT. Our data demonstrate that PTB is associated with elevated levels of chemokines, which are partially reversed followed chemotherapy. Our data demonstrate that chemokines are markers of disease severity, predicting increased bacterial burden and delayed culture conversion in PTB

Safety and Efficacy of Combined Antegrade and Retrograde Endoscopic Dilation for Complete Esophageal Obstruction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background Complete esophageal obstruction (CEO) due to occlusive proximal stricture occurs after chemoradiation for head and neck cancers. A combined antegrade and retrograde endoscopic technique with controlled recanalization and dilation (CARD) has been shown to be an effective and safe method for regaining and maintaining esophageal luminal patency in the short term. Methods We conducted a comprehensive search of multiple electronic databases and conference proceedings, including PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases (from inception through November 2018), to identify studies that reported the outcomes of CARD. The primary outcomes were the pooled rates of technical and clinical success, specifically improvement in dysphagia and independence from percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG)-tube feeds. The secondary outcomes were the need for repeat dilations and the risks of complications, such as pneumomediastinum, perforation, and death. Results From a total of 19 studies (229 cases and 251 procedures) the calculated technical success rate was 88.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 83.9-92.5, I2 =0). The rates of improvement in dysphagia and being PEG-tube free were 58.4% (95%CI 50-66.3, I2 =12.6) and 43.5% (95%CI 34.1-53.4, I2 =30.6), respectively. The pooled rate of repeat dilatations was 78.9% (95%CI 69.7- 85.8, I2 =15.2). The risks of pneumomediastinum, perforation and death were 9.9% (95%CI 6.2- 15.6, I2 =0), 8% (95%CI 4.8-13, I2 =0), and 6.8% (95%CI 3.4-13.1, I2 =0), respectively. Minimal heterogeneity was noted in the analysis. Conclusions The CARD procedure for CEO has a high technical success rate, but also a high rate of repeat dilations. Given its complexity and associated adverse events, this procedure should be restricted to centers with a high level of expertise

(1R*,3′S*,4′R*)-4′-(4-Chloro­phen­yl)-3′-[(4-hy­droxy-2-oxo-1,2-dihydro­quinolin-3-yl)carbon­yl]-1′-methyl­spiro­[ace­naphthyl­ene-1,2′-pyrrolidin]-2-one

The title compound, C32H23ClN2O4, has a quinoline, a chloro­phenyl and an acenaphthalene ring system attached to a central pyrrolidine ring, which has three stereogenic centers. Nevertheless, the compound crystallizes as a racemate with two mol­ecules of identical chirality in the asymmetric unit. They differ in the conformation of the five-membered pyrrolidine ring; in one molecule it has an envelope conformation, while in the other molecule it has a twisted conformation. In each molecule there is an intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond making an S(6) ring motif. In the crystal, pairs of N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds produce inversion dimers with R 2 2(8) motifs. There are also C—H⋯O interactions present. The crystal structure contains voids (60 Å3) within which there is no evidence of solvent mol­ecules

Extent of heterosis in CMS based hybrids of Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.]

Endowed with several unique characteristics, pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] holds a prominent position in farm households of semi-arid and arid regions of the world. With the advent of hybrid pigeonpea technology, pigeonpea, once designated as orphan crop, has grown in importance as a commercial crop. Thus, development of more number of quality hybrid varieties has become imperative to meet the future demand. The present study was taken up to elicit the information on magnitude of the genetic variability, heritability, genetic advance as percent of mean, extent of fertility restoration and heterosis in newly developed CMS based pigeonpea hybrids. Twenty four pigeonpea hybrids along with four checks viz., Asha, Maruti, LRG 41 and BDN 711, were evaluated in kharif 2015 at ICRISAT, Patancheru. Analysis of variance showed significant differences among the hybrids for all the characters studied. High genetic variability coupled with high heritability and genetic advance as percent of mean were recorded for number of primary branches, number of secondary branches and pollen fertility percent. Fertility restoration studies showed that 15 out of 24 hybrids recorded high (>80 %) pollen fertility and exhibited better fertility restoration. High levels of heterosis i.e. over 50% in traits like number of pods per plant, pod weight per plant and grain yield per plant. were also recorded. ICPH 3762 and ICPH 4502, with high per se performance and high standard heterosis for grain yield per plant and for majority of yield attributes, were identified as promising hybrids

Characteristics of Aerosol Spectral Optical Depths over Manora Peak, Nainital −- A High Altitude Station in the Central Himalayas

We present, for the first time, spectral behaviour of aerosol optical depths (AODs) over Manora Peak, Nainital located at an altitude of $\sim$ 2 km in the Shivalik ranges of central Himalayas. The observations were carried out using a Multi-Wavelength solar Radiometer during January to December 2002. The main results of the study are extremely low AODs during winter, a remarkable increase to high values in summer and a distinct change in the spectral dependencies of AODs from a relatively steeper spectra during winter to a shallower one in summer. During transparent days, the AOD values lie usually below 0.08 while during dusty (turbid) days, it lies between 0.08 to 0.69 at 0.5 $\mu$m. The average AOD value at 0.5 $\mu$m during winters, particularly in January and February, is $\sim 0.03\pm0.01$. The mean aerosol extinction law at Manora Peak during 2002 is best represented by $0.10 \lambda^{-0.61}$. However during transparent days, which almost covers 40% of the time, it is represented by $0.02 \lambda^{-0.97}$. This value of wavelength exponent, representing reduced coarse concentration and presence of fine aerosols, indicates that the station measures aerosol in the free troposphere at least during part of the year.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, significantly shortened, main conclusions unchanged, accepted for publication in Jr. of Geophys. Reasearch - Atmosphere

Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles using Litsea glutinosa L. Leaves and Stem Extracts and their Antibacterial Efficacy

The present study explores the green approach for the preparation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) through the reduction of silver nitrate by the cell-free stem and leaf aqueous extracts of Litsea glutinosa (L.glutinosa) and its potential antibacterial activity. The analytical instruments include scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy confirmed the synthesis of smaller, uniformly spherical AgNPs (10-40 nm). The average crystalline size of prepared AgNPs produced by L. glutinosa leaf extract was found to be 19 mm. From UV-visible spectral analysis, the maximum absorbance peak appeared at 444 nm for leaf extract AgNPs different from stem extract AgNPs (422 nm), which are found to be specific for AgNPs. The L.glutinosa stem extract-assisted AgNPs have shown significant antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) in comparison to Gentamycin. Hence, the AgNPs obtained by green synthesis can be therapeutically explored against bacterial infections