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India has been actively pursuing digital financial transformation, and the government has implemented various initiatives to promote a cashless economy. The recent demonetization policy led to a significant push towards digital payments and a surge in the usage of digital wallets, mobile banking, and other cashless methods. These digital transformations aimed to enhance financial inclusion by providing banking and financial services to a larger population segment, especially in rural areas. Despite the push for digital transactions, certain challenges persisted, especially the existence of physical cash. This paradox is evident in many economies worldwide, including India. This study tries to analyze the trend towards the digital financial transformation of the Indian economy and prove the paradoxical situation of the cash-based economy. The study also examines the impact of digital infrastructures (DI) and payment modes and channels (PMC) on total digital payment (TDP) in India.

Objectives We sought to identify the most common diagnostic categories linked to dispensed opioid prescriptions among children 1-36 months old and changes in patterns over the years 2000 to 2017. Methods This study used South Carolina's Medicaid claims data of pediatric dispensed outpatient opioid prescriptions between 2000 and 2017. The major opioid-related diagnostic category (indication) for each prescription was identified using visit primary diagnoses and the Clinical Classification System (AHRQ-CCS) software. The variables of interest were the rate of opioid prescriptions per 1,000 visits for each diagnostic category and the relative percentage of opioid prescriptions assigned to each category compared to all categories. Results Six major diagnostic categories were identified; Diseases of the respiratory system (RESP), Congenital anomalies (CONG), Injury (INJURY), Diseases of the nervous system and sense organs (NEURO), Diseases of the digestive system (GI), and Diseases of the genitourinary system (GU). The overall rate of dispensed opioid prescriptions per category declined significantly for four diagnostic categories throughout the study period, RESP by 15.13, INJURY by 8.49, NEURO by 7.33, and GI by 5.93. Two categories increased during the same time, CONG (by 9.47) and GU (by 6.98). RESP was the most prevalent category linked to a dispensed opioid prescription within 2010-2012 (almost 25%) but CONG was the most prevalent by 2014 (17.77%). Conclusions for practice Among Medicaid children 1-36 months old, annual dispensed opioid prescription rates declined for most major diagnostic categories (RESP, INJURY, NEURO, and GI). Future studies should explore alternatives to current opioid dispensing practices for GU and CONG cases., Author(s): Laksika Banu M. Sivaraj [sup.1] , William T. Jr. Basco [sup.2] , Smith F. Heavner [sup.1] [sup.3] [sup.4] , Snehal S. Lopes [sup.1] , Laura J. Rolke [sup.1] , [...]

Digital financial literacy has recently piqued the interest of researchers and policymakers worldwide, especially in India. Financial inclusion could be effectively achieved by promoting digital financial literacy. Digitalization and faster internet technologies lead to a greater rural and urban digital divide due to their digital incompetency and illiteracy. Much literature shows that demographic variables namely age, gender, marital status, level of education, social groups, religion, profession, size of the family, APL/BPL, and the size of the landholding has a significant relation with digital financial literacy. Therefore, all these factors should be taken into account when developing financial training programmes to improve digital financial literacy. This paper tries to identify the relationship between digital financial literacy and demographic factors in rural areas of India. A multi-stage sampling technique has been used for choosing the 500 respondents from the rural areas of the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh for the study.

Introduction: This study aims to evaluate the role of ultrasonography (USG) for early diagnosis of clinically suspected dengue fever before it becomes serologically positive and the usefulness of USG in predicting the severity of the disease. Methods: Prospective observational study conducted at a tertiary care hospital from April 2020 to March 2021, 70 cases of clinically suspected dengue within the age group of 6 months to 15 years resenting with fever for less than 5 days underwent whole abdomen and chest ultrasonography. For seropositive cases, ultrasonography findings and their utility in early diagnosis and prediction of disease severity were analyzed along with their correlation to the clinical and laboratory profiles. Results: 75.8% had primary dengue and 24.2% had secondary dengue. 94% of cases demonstrated ultrasonography features suggestive of dengue-like hepatomegaly (81%), ascites (63.8%), splenomegaly (56.9%), gall bladder wall thickness (46.6%), Cholecystitis (44.8%) and Pleural effusion (41.4%). Ascites and pleural effusion correlated well with clinical severity (p5mm correlated well with disease severity. USG showed 94.3% sensitivity, 16.67% specificity, and 81.43% of diagnostic accuracy in the seropositive cases of this study. Conclusion: Ultrasonography is useful not only as an adjuvant for early diagnosis of Dengue fever but also as a marker of disease severity.

Despite the potential governmental agenda towards cash waqf, this area has been givessn limited attention in academic literature with special regards to the supply side. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the factors influencing the public intention in endowing cash waqf by utilizing an extended theory of planned behaviors (TPB); in which religiosity, knowledge, and trust variables are added. Primary data from 685 respondents in Indonesia are analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The result showed that the intention to endow cash waqf is positively affected by all of the TPB variables (attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control) and other extended variables. The findings suggest an optimization in waqf fund collection and waqf fund management. For waqf collection, it is important to improve public literacy and the quality and quantity of supporting facilities and systems. Meanwhile, institutional management should be strengthened for waqf management.

Varenicline tartrate is a smoking cessation aid that works by blocking nicotine receptors in the brain. It helps reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms and helps you quit smoking. The study aimed to formulate and characterize varenicline tartrate orodispersible tablets using the synthetic disintegrants crospovidone and croscarmellose sodium in different ratios and directly compressible microcrystalline cellulose as diluent, and mannitol to improve mouthfeel using the direct compression method. A total of 13 varenicline orodispersible tablets are formulated and subsequently evaluated for pre-compression and post-compression physicochemical parameters such as angle of repose, Carr index, Hausner ratio, hardness, thickness, mass variation, drug content, friability, wetting time, disintegration time, dispersion time and water absorption ratio. Optimization was performed with percentage of crospovidone (X1 or A) and croscarmellose sodium (X2 or B) as independent variables, while disintegration time (Y1) and wetting time (Y2) were selected as dependent variables using the central composite design of Design-Expert® DX 12. Optimized formulations showed 99.68 % drug release in 60 min while the cumulative percentage drug release of pure drug was only 56.84 %. Finally, it was concluded that dissolution rate and bioavailability are improved with varenicline tartrate orodispersible tablets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Turmeric cultivation primarily thrives in India, followed by Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. India leads globally in both area and production of turmeric. Despite this, there is a recognized gap in research regarding the impact of climate change on site suitability of turmeric. The primary objective of the present study was to evaluate both the present and future suitability of turmeric cultivation within the humid tropical region of Kerala, India, by employing advanced geospatial techniques. The research utilized meteorological data from the Indian Meteorological Department for the period of 1986–2020 as historical data and projected future data from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). Four climatic scenarios of shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change AR6 model of MIROC6 for the year 2050 (SSP 1–2.6, SSP 2–4.5, SSP 3–7.0 and SSP 5–8.5) were used. RESULTS: The results showed that suitable area for turmeric cultivation is declining in future scenario and this decline can be primarily attributed to fluctuations in temperature and an anticipated increase in rainfall in the year 2050. Notable changes in the spatial distribution of suitable areas over time were observed through the application of geographic information system (GIS) techniques. Importantly, as per the suitability criteria provided by ICAR‐National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (ICAR‐NBSS & LUP), all the districts in Kerala exhibited moderately suitable conditions for turmeric cultivation. With the GIS tools, the study identified highly suitable, moderately suitable, marginally suitable and not suitable areas of turmeric cultivation in Kerala. Presently 28% of area falls under highly suitable, 41% of area falls under moderately suitable and 11% falls under not suitable for turmeric cultivation. However, considering the projected scenarios for 2050 under the SSP framework, there will be a significant decrease in highly suitable area by 19% under SSP 5–8.5. This reduction in area will have an impact on the productivity of the crop as a result of changes in temperature and rainfall patterns. CONCLUSION: The outcome of the present research suggests that the state of Kerala needs to implement suitable climate change adaptation and management strategies for sustaining the turmeric cultivation. Additionally, the present study includes a discussion on potential management strategies to address the challenges posed by changing climatic conditions for optimizing turmeric production in the region. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]