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Agile software development is an iterative and incremental methodology, where solutions evolve from self-organizing, cross-functional teams. Pair programming is a type of agile software development technique where two programmers work together with one computer for developing software. This paper reports the results of the pair programming exercise which was carried out among fifty six post graduate students of Master of Computer Applications (MCA) who are engaged in developing small applications as a part of their Visual Programming laboratory course at Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT) during the academic year 2012-2013. The basic intent of the study is to explore the possibilities of adopting pair programming as a pedagogical tool in higher educational setting. The study investigates the possibilities of deploying purposeful pair programming modules to facilitate knowledge sharing in regular laboratory sessions. The research findings suggest that pair programming can be a useful approach to teach computer programming in higher education to facilitate effective knowledge sharing among the students.

Capsicum annuum L., also known as bell or sweet pepper, is a globally significant horticultural crop in the Solanaceae family. India’s red and yellow colored capsicum holds 13th rank in export. In India, color capsicum is a valuable crop, yielding 2.34 times more per square meter in protected cultivation comparing open field. Tamil Nadu contributes 16,689 tonnes on 284 hectares, comprising 5.13% of India’s total. Modern agriculture benefits from automation and robotics, especially in protected cultivation for selective, high-quality capsicum harvesting, reducing labor fatigue. In consideration to the issues like timely and repetitive harvestings and shortage of labour a study was focused to develop a robotic harvester. The study evaluated the engineering attributes of red and yellow capsicum during protected cultivation, classified into size categories A, B and C. Moisture content ranged from 83.6% to 87.12%. Capsicum dimensions spanned 57 mm to 110 mm in length, 52 mm to 98 mm in width, and 51 mm to 96 mm in thickness. Red capsicum had slightly larger arithmetic, geometric, square mean, and equivalent diameters, with sphericity ranging from 0.89 to 0.93. Surface area varied from 87 cm² to 316 cm², volume from 108 cm³ to 363 cm³, and mass from 67 g to 226 g, with red capsicum slightly larger. The highest static friction coefficient was with aluminum, at 0.61 to 0.66. Using the CIELAB model for color estimation, the significant color difference for red and yellow capsicum were 79.26 and 70.28 respectively. Moisture content was negatively correlated with aspect ratio and sphericity, and other attributes had positive correlations. This data is valuable for potential capsicum harvesting mechanization in robotics and protected cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employee retention is an emerging concept in branches of Human Resource Management (HRM). The employee retention concept seems to be expensive, and it is not globally adopted by all pharmaceutical companies. These companies need to be aware of the value of efficient employees and their contribution to the economic growth of their companies. The primary aim of management should be employee retention which will enable companies to reap benefits in the long run. As found in various government and association medical representatives' reports, employee attrition rates in pharmaceutical companies are high when compared to various other sectors. This creates high level of mismatch between employee demand and supply for medical representatives. The objective of the research study is to identify the various factors that are influencing employee retention and also examine the various inter-relationships that exists among those factors. An empirical study was performed to collect data from 128 medical representatives in Salem, Tamilnadu, India through a self-administered questionnaire method. Convenience sampling technique was adopted. The research involved quantitative analysis using the IBM SPSS (version 23) software package and also determined percentage analysis and factor analysis. Structural equation modelling is used to analyse factors such as Monetary Rewards, Work Pressure and Performance and other perquisites which influences employee retention for pharmaceutical companies. The outcome of the study reveals that there exists a high level of inter-relationship amongst these factors which have significant impact on employee retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current investigation was conducted to maximise the production of the natural anticancer drug from the microbe isolated from the marine soil sample of the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal region of India. Yellow to red colour pigmented microbes separated by crowd plate method. Bacteria are producing strong colour product subjected to future study. The isolated strains were detected based on biochemical, morphological, and genetic characteristics. Pigment formation was found to be influenced strongly by conditions of the environment. The water-insoluble pigment extracted by acidified methanol and showed maximum absorbance at 535nm. A statistical screening procedure was adopted to select the optimum condition to produce the pigment. The carbon, nitrogen, medium pH, growth condition temperature and revolution of agitation were screened using the response surface methodology statistical model. The near optimum conditions for the production medium were affected by the concentration of peanut, L-proline, percentage inoculum pH and incubation time. When these conditions were employed yield increased as two-fold as the concentration of prodigiosin 789 mg/l. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, in this era of globalization marketers have not only focused serving the needs of urban customers with value, but also have started giving importance to Indian rural market. The Indian mobile industry is growing fastest in the world and continues to add more mobile phone connections every month. This growth is noticed due to liberalization of telecommunication laws and policies. According to Gartner report, after China, India would be the fastest telephone market in Asia Pacific. The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers great opportunities to many marketers. Rural India comprises around 840 million people; around 70% of population, with over 600,000 villages and 56 per cent of national income. The Indian rural market generates about 50 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. There is a slight improvement in the purchasing pattern of rural consumers as their discretionary income is increasing. If India is a huge market for mobile phone, it is also due to huge population based in rural part of India. Marketers have to work on strategies to capture the growing rural market by understanding the needs of rural consumers, which is different compared to urban consumers based on affordability and preferences, strive to provide those products and services to have a profitable exchange. The companies need to make proper assessment while marketing for the rural India. India has approximately 700 million mobile phone users, out of which 320 million are rural mobile users (How smartphones are penetrating deeper in rural India, 25th May 2015, The rural Marketing Journal). The penetration of mobile phone in rural market has increased from 22% to 38% in the last four years. This research is an attempt to fill the gap by considering an extensive work on mobile phone as a potential market due to its 'essential' need for rural market of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haemophilus are fastidious Gram negative bacilli, which require factor X (hemin), factor V (NAD), or both for their growth. Haemophilus influenzae is the type species, and is considered to be the most pathogenic. They are associated with many invasive infections including meningitis, epiglottitis, pneumonia, and otitis media. Serotype b is most commonly associated with infections. Haemophilus species isolated from patients in a tertiary care centre in South India were studied. Identification, serotyping and biotyping were done and antibiotic susceptibility test was performed. The incidence of H. influenzae infections in our study was 65.3 cases/100,000 persons. Serotype b was the most common (66.67%), followed by non typeable H.influenzae (NTHi) (25%). Most isolates from adults were type b, while all isolates from pediatric population were non typeable. The most common biotype was type II, followed by type I and type III. Three of 24 isolates were β lactamase producers (12.5%). One isolate was β lactamase negative Ampicillin resistant (BLNAR). Resistance to ampicillin was 16.67%. Resistance to cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones was low (4-10%). Co-trimoxazole resistance was found to be very high (75%). All isolates were susceptible to azithromycin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol and meropenem. No isolates of H.influenzae type b were obtained from the paediatric population which may be due to the introduction of Hib vaccine. The increase in resistance to commonly used antibiotics is worrisome, especially penicillins and co-trimoxazole. Use of co-trimoxazole in empirical therapy of upper and lower respiratory tract infections has a high chance of failure in the current scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication of snake envenomation. However, the long-term renal outcomes of such patients are not well defined. We aimed to determine the proportion of patients who developed AKI, characterize the presenting syndromes and ascertain the long-term resolution of AKI. Methods. We did a cohort study with prospective followup from two centres in southern India. All admitted patients >15 years of age with snake envenomation and serum creatinine >1.5 mg/dl over the past 10 years were identified through their discharge summaries. These patients were prospectively contacted, interviewed telephonically and requested to come for a hospital review. Results. Of the 866 patients screened, 184 developed AKI (21.2%). Among these, 53% had combined renal, haematological and neurological manifestations; 33.6% required admission to the intensive care unit and 38% were dialysed. On follow-up of hospital records the creatinine of 49% of patients had normalized. Of those admitted, 36% were contacted and none had a known renal disease or were on dialysis. Among these, 16 patients came to the hospital for review and only 2 had an elevated creatinine. The total mortality was 14. Conclusion. AKI is an important cause of morbidity with snake envenomation and a proportion will require dialysis. The mortality in our study was low and long-term renal outcomes were relatively good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India lives in villages! Rural India is a significant market as 68-70% of India lives in villages. Starting from the Father of Nation to industrialists, it has been predicted and noticed that the future of India lies in its villages. Many marketers (HUL, Dabur, LG, Chik Shampoo, Hero Honda, Mahindra, etc.) have made revenue of 35-45% from rural market1. Today, mobile phones are more than voice communication and have become most important and integral part of life due to various advantages in one product such as - alarm, radio, watching movie/videos, speaking, Whatsapp, access to Facebook, mails, information search, video call, etc. India being big in population and growing economy, with greater population living in villages with improved literacy rates, TV penetration, improved infrastructure, governments and industrialists schemes to improve and tap rural market, is thus a potential market for mobiles too. Rural market being a significant part of Indian economy, and telecom being a fastest growing sector, this paper focuses on understanding the buying behaviour of rural consumers towards mobile phones from the rural consumers of two villages of Mandya district in Karnataka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is used to provide enteral access in patients who are unable to swallow. Infection of the stoma is an important complication and there is little data from India on this problem, which can be used to inform infection prevention and prophylactic strategies. Aim: The objective was to assess the prevalence and the role of contributory factors in PEG site infections. Methods: A total of 173 patients underwent PEG insertion from January 2011 to May 2012. Clinical and microbiological data were collected for culture-positive cases. Insertion was performed using a standard sterile pull-through technique. Infections were defined as two of: peristomal erythema, induration, and purulent discharge. Results: A total of 54 PEG infections occurred in 43 patients (28.85%). Seventy-seven organisms were isolated. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common (n=29) followed by coliforms (n=21) and meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (n=6). Thirty-one (72%) received amoxicillin-clavulanic acid as prophylaxis and 12 (28%) were receiving concomitant antibiotics for their underlying conditions. The occurrence of PEG site infections was statistically independent of the administered prophylactic antibiotics (p=0.3). Conclusions: This study has demonstrated the importance of PEG sites as a cause of healthcare associated infections. Educating patients on wound care practices would play a significant role in prevention of PEG site infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cilnidipine, an upcoming anti-hypertensive drug, is a combined L- and N-type calcium channel blocker. It is proposed to be more efficacious and safer due to its two-pronged approach in treating hypertension., Methods: The study was a randomized open-label parallel-group study, conducted in the Department of General Medicine, Sri Ramachandra Medical College Hospital, Chennai, during the period September 2014 to May 2015. 50 patients were randomized to the amlodipine group and 50 to the cilnidipine group. The blood pressure, pulse rate and adverse effects were monitored in each patient over 12 weeks. The difference in the Systolic Blood Pressure(SBP), Diastolic Blood Pressure(DBP) and Heart Rate(HR) before and after treatment within each group, and between the two groups were analyzed using paired and unpaired t tests respectively. The adverse effects reported in each group were analyzed using Chi-square test., Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the reduction of SBP and DBP between the two groups (p>0.05). The HR however, showed an increase of 1.07/min in the amlodipine group and decreased by 1.16/min in the cilnidipine group. The patients in the cilnidipine group experienced significantly less adverse effects such as pedal edema and palpitations when compared to those in the amlodipine group (p<0.05)., Conclusions: Cilnidipine therapy is an effective and safe alternative in the treatment of essential hypertension. It can be used as a first line antihypertensive drug since its efficacy is comparable to that of amlodipine with a better safety profile than amlodipine., (© Journal of the Association of Physicians of India 2011.)

Intraocular gnathostomiasis is a rare parasitic infection caused by the third-stage larvae of spiruroid nematode Gnanthostoma spp. seen mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. It is a food-borne zoonosis caused by ingestion of raw or undercooked freshwater fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, all of which are known to harbor advanced third-stage larvae of Gnanthostoma spp. To date, 74 cases of intraocular gnathostomiasis have been reported from 12 different countries. Only four countries have reported more than 10 cases each, and India shares the rare distinction of being one of them, with 14 cases. Surprisingly, not a single case of cutaneous gnanthostomiasis has ever been reported from India. We present one such case of intraocular gnathostomiasis in a 41-year-old male who presented with an actively motile worm attached to the iris, and we review the pertinent literature of all such cases reported from India.

We studied the aerobic bacterial isolates from bile and their susceptibilty pattern in patients with biliary tract disease. Samples of bile collected during endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP) and surgery, were inoculated on standard media. Bacterial identification and susceptibility were done by standard techniques. A total of 209 samples were cultured, out of which 128 samples showed growth. Total number of isolates obtained was 221. Poly-microbial infection was detected in 67 patients. Predominant aerobic bacterial isolates obtained were Escherichia coli 30% (67), Klebsiella species 23.98% (53), Enterococcus species 12.21% (27). Multi-drug resistance was noted in 57%. Higher resistance rate was noted among Gram negative bacilli for ampicillin (92.4%), cephalexin (82.46%), ciprofloxacin (68.42%), piperacillin (64.33%). Sensitivity to meropenem was 90.64% and amikacin was 76.61%. Gram positive bacteria showed high resistance to gentamicin (39.53%). Sensitivity to ampicillin was 86.05% and penicillin was 81.4%. Vancomycin and teicoplanin showed 100% sensitivity. From our study we conclude that E. coli, Klebsiella species and Enterococcus species are common pathogens infecting biliary tract. Poly-microbial infection and multi-drug resistance warrants culture and sensitivity to guide antimicrobial therapy. We recommend combination of amikacin and ampicillin for empirical therapy at our institution.