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India is the second largest higher education network in the world, where the business environment is highly complex and competitive. So, what we need is an element of distinctiveness in our institutions of higher learning. A modification is required in the way these institutions are being run and supervised. A workable solution for managing and supervising them effectively lies in the improvement of managerial effectiveness in institutional heads, in terms of their actions and competencies. For the measurement of managerial effectiveness, various instruments are available but none of them were developed and standardized with the perspective of Indian higher educational context. This study reports the development and validation of a scale for measuring managerial effectiveness of heads in Indian institutions of higher learning. The validity check of the scale using factor analysis indicates that people management, task management, strategic management and relationship management are the main antecedents of managerial effectiveness applicable in the Indian context. The result is presented as a model with four factors and 31 items. Finally, the implications for HR professionals are outlined.

The author's primary aims are to clarify the differing rationales for affirmative action that have emerged in five nations--France, India, South Africa, the United States, and Brazil--and to make the case for the most compelling rationales, whether instrumentally or morally based. She examines the different social contexts surrounding the establishment and public discussion of each nation's policy. Next, she examines four justifications for affirmative action in these nations: remediation, economics, diversity, and social justice. She offers philosophical analysis of the justifications for affirmative action in each country and synthesizes federal and state legislation, court decisions, news media sources, and research-based scholarship. She argues that the social justice rationale ought to be invoked more centrally, underscoring affirmative action's role in fostering a democratic society. (Contains 3 tables and 14 notes.)

The article presents a case study which analyses the post-privatization economic scenario called the development fee (DF) in relation to Supreme Court of India's decision on the issue. Topics discussed include legal and regulatory issues connected with levy in relation to guidelines regarding airport charges including International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) documents, and privatization of airports owned by the Airport Authority of India (AAI).

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of tepid sponging and antipyretic drug versus only antipyretic drug among febrile children. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Tertiary care hospital. Participants: 150 children 6 mo -- 12 yr age with axillary temperature ≥ 101°F. Intervention: Tepid sponging and antipyretic drug (Paracetamol) (n=73) or only antipyretic drug (Paracetamol) (n=77). Main outcome measures: Reduction of body temperature and level of comfort. Results: The reduction of body temperature in the tepid sponging and antipyretic drug group was significantly faster than only antipyretic group; however, by the end of 2 hours both groups had reached the same degree of temperature. The children in tepid sponging and antipyretic drug had significantly higher discomfort than only antipyretic group, but the discomfort was mostly mild. Conclusion: Apart from the initial rapid temperature reduction, addition of tepid sponging to antipyretic administration does not offer any advantage in ultimate reduction of temperature; moreover it may result in additional discomfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Approximately 35% of NSCLC patients in East Asia have EGFR mutations. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) provides a comprehensive mutational profile in lung cancer patients. Material and Method: Clinicopathologic characteristics and mutational profiling data was analyzed from nonsmall cell lung carcinoma /Adenocarcinoma over a duration of 42 months (October 2014 to March 2018) using next-generation sequencing Ion Ampliseq Cancer Hotspot panel v2 (Ampliseq, Life Technologies) on the Ion torrent PGM platform. Results: A total of 154 cases were processed during this period. The average number of mutations/case varied from one to four 72.07% (111/154), of these cases had minimum one genetic alteration. The most common mutated gene was TP53 gene (37.6%, n = 58) followed by EGFR (32.4%, n = 50), KRAS (18.18%, n = 28), ERBB2 (3.2%, n = 5), BRAF (1.94%, n = 3). EGFR positivity was more in females (43.3%) and non-smokers (52.08%) in comparison to males (26.7%) and smokers (16.1%). Conclusion: In this paper, we have described the comprehensive mutational profiling of a large cohort of advanced lung adenocarcinoma patients from the eastern part of India. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the largest studies from the country describing mutations in BRAF, ERBB2, TP53 genes and their clinicopathologic/histopathologic associations in lung cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rotavirus gastroenteritis is the major cause of severe dehydrating diarrhea in children worldwide. This study compares rotavirus diarrhea in 351 children in a community-based cohort and 343 children admitted to a hospital during the same period. Clinical information and fecal specimens were obtained during diarrheal episodes. Fecal samples were screened for VP6 antigen, and the positive samples were G and P typed by reverse transcription-PCR. Rotavirus was detected in 82/1,152 (7.1%) episodes of diarrhea in the community and 94/343 (27.4%) cases in the hospital. The median age of affected children (7.5 versus 10.5 months) and the mean severity of symptoms (Vesikari score, 7.6+/-3.4 versus 11+/-2.5) were lower in the community. A larger proportion of children in the community were breast-fed than were children admitted to the hospital (73% versus 34.8%). In the community, the genotypes identified in symptomatic patients, in order of frequency, were G1 (36.5%), G10 (17.1%), G2 (15.9%), and G9 (7.3%) and mixed infections (7.3%). The most common G-P combinations were G1P[8], G2P[4], G1P[4], and G10P[11]. The distribution of G types from hospitalized children was G1 (46.8%), G9 (19.1%), G2 (8.5%), G10 (1.1%), and 4.3% mixed infections. The most common G-P combinations were G1P[8] and G9P[8]. This study documents significant genetic heterogeneity of rotaviruses in the community and the hospital. G10P[11] strains resembling a vaccine candidate strain caused disease in the community, indicating the need for careful epidemiological studies as well as safety studies for the vaccine candidates.

Background: Severe pneumonia remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in undernourished young children in developing countries., Objective: This study evaluated the effect of adjuvant zinc therapy on recovery from severe pneumonia by hospitalized children in southern India who were receiving standard antibiotic therapy., Design: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted at the Christian Medical College Hospital, an 1800-bed teaching hospital in Tamilnadu, India. Enrollment and follow-up occurred between September 2003 and August 2004. Children aged 2-23 mo (n = 299) who were hospitalized with severe pneumonia were randomly assigned to receive 10-mg tablets of zinc sulfate or placebo twice a day during hospitalization, along with standard therapy for severe pneumonia. All clinical signs and symptoms of pneumonia were assessed and recorded at 8-h intervals., Results: There were no clinical or statistically significant differences in the duration of tachypnea, hypoxia, chest indrawing, inability to feed, lethargy, severe illness, or hospitalization. Zinc supplementation was associated with a significantly longer duration of pneumonia in the hot season (P = 0.015)., Conclusions: Zinc supplementation had no overall effect on the duration of hospitalization or of clinical signs associated with severe infection in young children hospitalized for severe pneumonia in southern India. This finding differs from the results of 2 previously reported trials wherein zinc supplementation was associated with a shorter period of recovery from severe pneumonia. Given the conflicting results, further research in representative settings is required to help clarify the role of zinc in the treatment of severe pneumonia.