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Coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) plays a major role in marine photochemical and biological processes and its optical properties are known to affect the underwater light penetration. This paper highlights in situ optical estimation and satellite retrieval of CDOM in deciphering its temporal variations in coastal waters of the South Eastern Arabian Sea. The study accentuated the source of CDOM as terrigenous origin during monsoon, of in situ productions during pre-monsoon and during post-monsoon of autochthonous-allocthonous origin. The matchup analysis for in situ and MODIS Aqua retrieved Adg 443 exhibited bias which decreased by incorporating the seasonal component. The study also identified degrading bloom of Noctiluca scintillans as the source for exceptionally high CDOM in the area during January and February. The study demands to incorporate seasonal components and phytoplankton abundance while assessing the performance of CDOM algorithms in optically complex coastal waters.

Drastic increases in oil prices and need to reduce global warming are issues that have raised huge public awareness, which in turn encouraged many developed and developing countries to adopt new energy policies. Renewable energy resources are gaining fast attention in solving power supply problems in almost every area to shield the environment. In solving power supply problem standalone microgrid systems including renewable energy sources plays a key role. For a stand-alone renewable power delivery system, battery is the crucial component which allows storing excess renewable energy and further using the energy as and when needed by the load. In order to achieve the best performance and utilization the state of charge of the batteries should be assessed. This paper presents heuristic approaches to evaluate the state of charge (SOC) of lead–acid battery through optimal power generation in a standalone hybrid wind-solar renewable power delivery system. The mathematical analysis is made by the application of modified heuristic techniques, i.e. tuned genetic algorithm (TGA) and improved colliding body optimization(ICBO), for a specific loading condition in India. More optimized power is generated by the renewable distributed energy sources when evaluated by ICBO than that achieved by TGA, for both winter and summer load demands. These optimized value of power generated by the application of ICBO, resulted in low average value of SOC. The low values of SOC further prevent the battery from malfunctioning for a longer period of time. In order, to explore more optimal generation pertaining to good value of SOC parametric studies of modified algorithms, i.e. TGA and ICBO have been carried out. A set of critical operational parameters have also been obtained through parametric study of TGO and ICBO for a specific real time load profiles. Thus the reliable and optimal values lead to a better prospect in utilizing standalone renewable power delivery system for Indian future power scenario. Moreover, a comparative study has also been performed in analysing the performances of conventional and non-conventional methods in this regard. It has been found that the heuristic techniques, viz ICBO and TGA delivered 13% and 17% better result in comparison to that obtained by linear programming method respectively. Thus it can be surmise that the heuristic techniques perform well in considering the uncertainties and approximations of real world problem of generation renewable power, pertaining to better values of SOC.

The role of endoscopy in the diagnosis of dyspepsia is not clear and there are conflicting reports mainly from western countries.All patients presenting with dyspepsia to the gastroenterology department of the M.L.N. Medical College, Allahabad, between January 1989 and April 1990, were subjected to endoscopy. Patients were divided into two age groups: younger (≤45 years) and older (45 years).Ninety-two (16%) of 567 patients in the younger age group had endoscopic abnormalities and the majority had minor diseases such as peptic ulcer whereas 69 (42%) of 165 patients in the older age group had abnormalities (p0.001)and 15(9%) had gastric carcinomas.We suggest that in cases of dyspepsia, only patients above the age of 45 years should be subjected to routine endoscopy. This will considerably reduce the load on endoscopy units and make the procedure more costeffective.

The British radicals presented an organized instruction process in pilgrim India to make a couple qualified assistants who might help them to administer and oversee the country with an uplifted regulatory hold. Their primary reason for existing was to make some yellow subordinates who won't have any power to challenge the summon of the outside rulers. In spite of the way that India has got freedom from British misuse sixty five years back; sadly, the provincial mindset is still persevering among the larger part of Indian residents. It is an open mystery that a specific wonder has been seen amid the most recent two decades that lion's share of the understudies are disserting the customary post graduation program, for example, M.Sc, M.Com, M.A and settling on expert courses. In the present period, advanced education is thought to be the way to accomplish the end focus of landing a decent position. Understudies are running behind the business colleges to upgrade the likelihood of their employability in corporate segments with a powerful pay bundle. Administration Institutes are being considered as the arrangement offices by most of the understudies and their folks. Administration instruction has been changed over into an item which is being exchanged at a tremendous premium. The goal of this paper is to recognize the inception and development of this scholastic private enterprise in India and fundamentally assess whether administration instruction is a vital and adequate condition to secure a sound proficient profession when excessively numerous candidates are focusing on not very many lounges. The strategy utilized for setting this up examination paper depends on auxiliary data accessible on Management Education, impression of the understudies about the business colleges and desire of the corporate segments from an administration graduate. This paper will concentrate on the key achievement variables for the Management Institutions under the changed globalized circumstances and underline on various methodology by which the business college graduates can make them attractive for their objective enrollment specialists., {"references":["1.\tBaum, J. R. (2004), The Relationship of Entrepreneurial Traits, Skill and Motivation to the Subsequent Venture Growth', Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(4), 507-98. 2.\tBenson, G. S. (2006). 'Employee Development, Commitment and intention to turn over: a Test of Employability Policies in Action'. Human Resource Management Journal, 16(2), 183-192. 3.\tBush-Bacelis, J. L. (September 1998). 'Innovative Pedagogy: Academic Service- Learning for Business Communication'. Business Communication Quarterly, 61(3), 20-34. 4.\tChhapia, H. (2012, October 8). '225 B-Schools, 52 Engg Colleges Close in 2 yrs'. The Times of India, pp. 1-18. 5.\tCitron, M. S. (2009). Differences in the Roles of Core Academic and Executive Faculty in MBA Programs: Time to Explore Assumptions'. Journal of Education for Business (January/February), 183-188. 6.\tHelms, M. M. (2005, September/October). \"Planning and Implementing Shared Teaching: An MBA Team-Teaching Case Study'. Journal Education for Business, 29-34. 7.\tHolt, C. C. (1969). 'A Computer Aided Approach to Employment Service Placement and Counseling'. Management Science, 15(11), 573-594. 8.\tLundstrom, W. J. (2011). 'MBA Attitudes towards Business: What We Don't Know Can Hurt Us or Help Us'. Journal of Education for Business, 86, 178-185. 9.\tMason, G. G. (March 2009). 'Employability Skills Initiative in Higher Education: What Effects do They Have on Graduate Labour Market Outcomes?' Education Economics, 17(1), 1-30. 10.\tMCelwee, G. (2006). 'Farmers as Entrepreneurs: Developing Competitive Skills'. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 11(3), 187-206. 11.\tMichelacci, C. (2003, January). \"Low Returns in R and D Due to the Lack of Entrepreneurial Skills'. The Economic Journal, 113, 207-225."]}

The globalization procedure is altogether influencing the financial and business life of countries. Changing monetary conditions and heightening of worldwide rivalry have given administration training an undeniably focal part in the achievement of people and partnerships. Administration training has spread in the last fifteen-a quarter century India. Administration training, at this crossroads, needs a basic examination as just creating ability can take India forward. Worldwide rivalry is changing the relationship between administration training and business. The endeavors for building administration pipelines in associations have escalated in the last five to six years. Ceaseless changes in both innovation and monetary frameworks, alongside the rate of progress, oblige officials to be occupied with a steady learning process. Administration training has turned into a noteworthy calling that pulls in impressive consideration over the world. The reason for this paper is to connect with all worried in a genuine discourse with a perspective to redoing administration instruction in India as a prelude to better interest and reasonability in the worldwide economy. This will require a quantum hop in administrative ability in all the financial circles. It is the joint obligation of Government, open division and private firms and teachers, to put administration training on another development direction. This paper inspects the issues that should be tended to and a conceivable bearing so that administration training can be revived. Today, a MBA has picked up significance because of the rise of demonstrable skill in corporate areas. The focused business environment has made ready for expanded interest for administration graduates in the livelihood market. This has prompted a critical development of administration instruction the nation over. Today, business colleges have the testing errand of building up the competency level of understudies to meet corporate desires. Given the advancements in today's business surroundings, setting up our understudies for their future will require critical change in the educational programs and instructional method. In administration training, quality has turned into a need and circumstances require complete quality administration. To make India a scholarly capital of the world we need to reevaluate about the administration training and endeavors ought to be made to make a dynamic domain. In this foundation, this paper endeavors to investigate a system to empower advancement of new curricular components and strategies in administration training. It likewise depicts the developing system to make showing strategy in administration training more lively and in a state of harmony with the adjustments in the business and financial environment., {"references":["1.\tAn agenda for reforming management education, Financial Express ( Net Edition), Saturday, November 20, 2004 2.\tB-schools on the March: Business World, March 22 –April 6 1999, pp 22-34. 3.\tDhar, Upinder, Managing: Educational Services with special references to a management education in India. University News, 38(20), May 15, pp 8-11. 4.\tGupta, P.K.(2000) : Excellence in Higher Technical Education Indian Management , April; pp 73-80 5.\tKhandai, Sujata: Dismal State of Management Education, Indian Management; Jan.2000. 6.\tKrishna, Vijay: Institute Quality in management Education, Indian Management; June 2000. 7.\tNarendran, R & Narendran,V(2000): Changing Scenario of Management Education in India , University News, 38(50); December 11; pp 4-5 8.\tNaik, B.M.(2000): Industry –University Partnership, Global Trends and Relevance for India, University News, April 14; pp 5-7 9.\tShollapur, M.R.(1999): Quality in Management Education: A perspective, University News ; 37(36), pp 1-5 10.\tStuart Crainer: \"Key Management Ideas \"Macmillan India Ltd., 1997, p-195. 11.\tTrehaan, Allpana (2000) : Total Quality in Management Education Implementing the Operative Schemata through effective Learning System, University News, 38(23); June 5, pp 1-6"]}

The focal motivation behind this study was to decide the relationship between hierarchical decay and three spaces of viability (i.e., scholastic, spirit, and outer adjustment) in private schools and colleges. The study varied from before request regarding its estimation of the authoritative decay build and its dependence on staff impression of hierarchical viability. The outcomes obviously exhibit that the relationship amongst decay and adequacy is not uniform over the three sorts of private establishments. For instance, authoritative decay negatively affects viability in the scholarly space just at Liberal Arts Colleges. Additionally, the extent of decay important to negatively affect adequacy shifts among the three institutional sorts. The ramifications of these discoveries for future exploration and for the administration of decrease in private advanced education are examined., {"references":["1.\tAACSB (1998), \"Business Accreditation Standards,\" Web page, [accessed 21 January 2000], http://aacsb.edu/stand5.html 2.\tAckoff, R. L. (1979a), \"The Future of Operational Research is Past,\" Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 30, No. , pp. 93-104. 3.\tAckoff, R. L. (1979b), \"Resurrecting the Future of Operational Research,\" Journal of the Operational Research Society, Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 189-99. 4.\tAckoff, R. L. (1987), \"Presidents' Symposium: OR, A Post Mortem,\" Operations Research, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 471-474. 5.\tAnderson, D. R., D. J. Sweeney, and T. A. Williams (1997), Introduction to Management Science, 8th Edition, West Publishing Company, Eagan, MN. 6.\tAnonymous (1998), \"Thoughts About Students,\" The Teaching Professor, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 3 7.\tBusiness Week (1998), \"The Best B-Schools,\" Business Week, No. 3600. 8.\tBell, P. (1997), \"Positioning the OR/MS Core Course,\" OR/MS Today, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 8-10. 9.\tBell, P. (1998), \"Teachers' Aid from INFORMS,\" OR/MS Today, Vol. 25, No. 5, pp. 12. 10.\tBickerstaffe, G. (1997), Which MBA? Pitman Publishing. Bodily, S. E. (1996), \"Teaching MBA Quantitative Business Analysis with Cases,\" Interfaces, Vol. 26, No. 6, pp. 132-38. 11.\tBorsting, J. R., T. M. Cook, W. R. King, R. L. Rardin, and F. D. Tuggle (1988), \"A Model for a First MBA Course in Management Science/Operations Research,\" Interfaces, Vol. 18, No. 5, pp. 72-80. 12.\tBoyatzis, R. E., S. S. Cowen and D. A. Kolb (1995), Innovation in Professional Education: Steps on a Journey from Teaching to Learning: The Story of Change and Invention at the Weather head School of Management, Jossey- Bass, San Francisco, CA. 13.\tBruner, R. F. (1998), \"Vision of the MBA program,\" Web page, [accessed 7 December 1998], Available at http://faculty.darden.edu/BrunerB/vision.htm 14.\tCarraway, R. L. and D. R. Clyman (1997), \"Managerial Relevance: The Key to Survival for OR/MS,\" Interfaces, Vol. 27, No. 6, pp. 115-30. 15.\tChase, R. B., N. J. Aquilano, and F. R. Jacobs (1998), Production and Operations Management: Manufacturing and Services, 8th Edition, Irwin McGraw-Hill, Boston, MA. 16.\tClauss, F. J. (1997), \"The Trouble with Optimal,\" OR/MS Today, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 32-35. 17.\tCorbett, C. J. and L. N. van Wassenhove (1993), \"The Natural Drift: What Happened to Operations Research?\" Operations Research, Vol. 41, No. 4 pp. 625-640."]}

Electronic business (EC) is conceivably the most encouraging use of data innovation saw as of late. It is altering store network administration and has tremendous potential for assembling, retail and administration operations. The colossal significance of EC has provoked us to keep in touch with this paper. We have endeavored to characterize e-business and look at real EC components that connection hierarchical frameworks. The utilization of EC in assembling, retailing and administration operations is inspected, and a system for portraying EC parts and their part in various regions of an association is proposed. At long last, we condense our discoveries and conclusions.r2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights held., {"references":["1.\tN. Asokan, P.A. Janson, M. Steiner, M. Waidner, The state of the art in electronic payment systems, IEEE Computer 30 (9) (1997) 28–35. 2.\tI. Morphett, Foreword, BT Technology Journal 17 (3) (1999) 17–23. 3.\tW.M.P. VanderAalst, Process-oriented architectures for electronic commerce and interorganizational workflow, Information Systems 24 (8) (1999) 639–671. 4.\tS. Wakid, J. Barkley, M. Skall, Object retrieval and access management in electronic commerce, IEEE Communication Magazine 37 (9) (1999) 74–77. 5.\tR.L. Bartell, N.A. Blackwood, D. Eggenschwiler, M. Nguyen, C. Schnidrig, M.J. Yatchman, The Media Xactt system – a framework for personalised electronic commerce services, Bell Labs Technical Journal 4 (2) (1999) 153–173. 6.\tOECD, Electronic Commerce: Opportunities and Challenges for Government, OECD Publication, Vienna, 1997. 7.\tK. Levis, Electronic commerce, British Telecommunications Engineering 14 (4) (1996) 281–285. R. Kalakota, A.B. Whinston, Electronic Commerce: A Manager's Guide, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1997. 8.\tS.G.E. Garrett, P.J. Skevington, An introduction to e-commerce, BT Technology Journal 17 (3) (1999) 11–16. 9.\tA. Mohsen, CIM getting set for implementation, International Journal of Industrial Management and Data Systems 97 (1–2) (1997) 3–9. 10.\tN. Boudette, Electronic data interchange, Industry Week 18 (1989) 52–55. 11.\tA.S. Sohal, Computerised parts traceability: An implementation case study, Technovation 17 (10) (1997) 583–591. 12.\tR. Aaron, M. Decina, R. Skillen, Electronic commerce: Enablers and implications, IEEE Communications Magazine 37 (9) (1999) 47–52. 13.\tE. Turban, J. Lee, D. King, H.M. Chung, Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective, Prentice-Hall International (UK) Limited, London, 2000. 14.\tR. Davis, O.M. Buchanan, R. Brodie, Relationship marketing in electronic commerce environments, Journal of Information Technology 14 (4) (1999) 319–331. 15.\tS. Boll, A. Gruner, A. Haaf, W. Klas, EMP – A database driven electronic market place for business-to-business commerce on the Internet, Distributed and Parallel Databases 7 (2) (1999) 149–177. 16.\tM. Block, A. Segev, Leveraging electronic commerce for competitive advantage: A business value framework, Proceeding of the Ninth International Conference on EDIISO, Bled, Slovenia, 1996. 17.\tR.H. Guttman, A.G. Moukas, P. Maes, Agent-mediated electronic commerce: A survey, Knowledge Engineering Review 13 (2) (1998) 147–159."]}

This paper gives an account of introductory discoveries from an exploration investigation of elements that empower and compel personnel cooperation in web instructing and learning situations. It is noticed that interest for advanced education keeps on developing in the United States. It is contended that the way of the advanced education understudy populace will probably keep on transforming towards a non-customary profile. These two patterns drive an expanded interest for option courses to a professional education and have energized sensational development in internet adapting as of late. The study recognizes staff acknowledgment of web instructing as a basic part for future development to take care of this demand and guarantee quality. Through examination of information from 386 personnel instructing online in 36 schools in a huge state college framework, the most huge variables that backing and undermine inspiration to show online are distinguished. The top spark is a more adaptable work routine. The top demotivator is deficient remuneration for saw more prominent work than for customarily conveyed courses, particularly for online course improvement, amendment, and educating. Be that as it may, respondents in this study instructed online for a wide assortment of reasons a large number of which were connected with demographic and relevant contrasts. These refinements are explored in light of their suggestions for future nature of online training. Moreover, through component investigation, fundamental develops for online personnel inspirations are distinguished. At long last, suggestions are made for approach, hone, workforce advancement and future exploration., {"references":["1.\tAllen, E., & Seaman, J. (2015). Grade level: Tracking online education in the United States. Babson Survey Research Group and Quahog Research Group. Indian University of Beirut. (2014). Online courses. Retrieved from http://www.aub.edu.lb/it/acps/services/intstruct_design/Pages/online_courses. aspx 2.\tArab Open University. (2014). Arab Open University: Lebanon branch. Retrieved from http://www. aou.edu.lb/index.html 3.\tBass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1993). Transformational leadership and organizational culture. Public Administration Quarterly, 112-121. Retrieved from http://www.communicationcache.com/uploads/ 1/0/8/8/10887248/ 4.\ttransformational_leadership_and_organizational_culture.pdf 5.\tBell, B. S., & Federman, J. E. (2013). E-Learning in postsecondary education, 23. Retrieved from http: //www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/docs/23_01_08.pdf 6.\tBonk, C. J., & Kim, K. J. (2006). The future of online teaching and learning in higher: The survey says. Educause Quarterly, 4, 22−30. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EQM0644.pdf 7.\tBrown, K. (2012). Caltech expands online learning opportunities with Coursera. Retrieved from http://www.caltech.edu/news/caltech-expands-online-learning-opportunities-coursera-4307 8.\tBurns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York, NY: Harper & Row. 9.\tEl Turk, S. (2015). Perceived online education barriers through the voices of administrators and faculty at a INDIA university in Lebanon (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10504/ 71221 10.\tEmaratalyoum. (2014). Hamdan Bin Mubarak makes a decision about higher education. Retrieved from http://www.emaratalyoum.com/local-section/education/2013-10-23-1.617000 11.\tHarvard Extension School. (2014). About us. Cambridge, MA: President and Fellows of Harvard College. Retrieved from http://www.extension.harvard.edu/about-us 12.\tKaiser, H. F. (1960). The application of electronic computers to factor analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 20(1), 141– 151. 13.\tKeengwe, J., & Kidd, T. T. (2010). Towards best practices in online learning and teaching in higher education. 14.\tMerlot Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 6(2), 533-541. Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.mehe.gov.lb/Templates/Internal.aspx?Posting Id=147 15.\tLick, D. W., Clauset, K. H., & Murphy, C. U. (2013). Schools can change: A step-by-step change creation system for building innovative schools and increasing student learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. 16.\tLloyd, S. A., Byrne, M. M. & McCoy, T. S. (2012). Faculty-perceived barriers of online education. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 8(1), 1-12. 17.\tMcCarthy, S. A., & Samors, R. J. (2009). Online learning as a strategic asset. Volume I: A resource for campus leaders. Washington, DC: Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. 18.\tMirza, A., A., & Al-Abdulkareem, M. (2011). Models of e-learning adopted in the Middle East. Applied Computing and Informatics 9, 83-93. doi:10.1016/j.aci.2011.05.001 19.\tMorey, A. I. (2004). Globalization and the emergence of for-profit higher education. Higher Education, 48,131-150. 20.\tPrinceton University. (2014). Online learning. Princeton, New Jersey: The Trustees of Princeton University. 21.\tSpinks, J., A. & Bedi, K. (2012). Experiences of creating e-learning programs in the Middle East. Washington, DC: The Middle East Institute. 22.\tStanford University. (2014). About Stanford online. Stanford, CA: Stanford University. Retrieved from http://online.stanford.edu/about 23.\tStevens, J. P. (1986). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences.Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. 24.\tThe National. (2014). UAE releases list of accredited foreign online universities. Retrieved from http://www.thenational.ae/uae/education/uae-releases-list-of-accredited-foreign-online-universities 25.\tWellesley College. (2014). FAQ. Wellesley, MA: Trustees of Wellesley College. Retrieved from http://www.wellesley.edu/academics/wellesleyx/faq 26.\tYale University. (2014). Yale online. Retrieved from http://online.yale.edu/. 27.\tYang, Y. (2010). Roles of administrators in ensuring the quality of online programs. Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal, 2(4), 363-369. Retrieved from http://www.kmel journal. org/ojs/index.php/online-publication/article/viewFile/80/65"]}

Administration training in India is at cranky way today. After the deregulation of the instruction division in 1991, there has been a phenomenal development in the foundation of administration instructive organizations in India. However, there is countless organizations in the nation, a couple have been authorize with the worldwide certify bodies and keep up universal measures. This paper is an endeavor to give theoretical system introduces the effect of globalization on accreditation and business college gauges alongside partners., {"references":["1.\tBlass, E., & Weight, P. (2005). The MBA is dead–part 1: God save the MBA!. On the Horizon, 13(4), 229-240. 2.\tCarnoy, M. (2005, July). Globalization, educational trends and the open society. In Open Society Institute Education Conference 2005: Education and Open Society: A Critical Look at New Perspectives and Demands. Budapest, Hungary, 30 June–2 July. 3.\tDe Oliveira, O. J., & Ferreira, E. C. (2009, May). Adaptation and application of the SERVQUAL scale in higher education. In Proceedings of POMS 20th Annual Conference Orlando, Florida USA. 4.\tDrori, G. S., Meyer, J. W., & Hwang, H. (2006). Globalization and organization: World society and organizational change. Oxford University Press. 5.\tFrazer, M. (1994). Quality in higher education: an international perspective. What is quality in higher education, 101-111. Gupta, S. (2007). Professional Education in India-A Case Study of Management Education in NCR. IME, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad. 6.\tHelmig, B., Bürgisser, S., Lichtsteiner, H., & Spraul, K. (2010). On the relevance of accreditations of executive MBA programs—the perception of the customers. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 7(1), 37-55. 7.\tHolzhacker, D., Chornoivan, O., Yazilitas, D., & Dayan-Ochir, K. (2009). Privatization in Higher Education: Cross-Country Analysis of Trends, Policies, Problems, and Solutions. Issue Brief. Institute for Higher Education Policy. 8.\tMamun, M. A., & Mohamad, A. B. (2009). Management education for Contemporary challenges: The role of business school. European Journal of Scientific Research, 30(4), 649-661. 9.\tMcGinn, N. F. (1997). The impact of globalization on national education systems. Prospects, 27(1), 41-54. 10.\tRao, S. L., & Bowonder, B. (2004). Management Education in India: its evolution and some contemporary issues. AIMA Jan, 5. Robertson, R. (1992). Globalization: Social theory and global culture (Vol. 16). 11.\tSage. Stensaker, B., & Harvey, L. (2006). Old wine in new bottles? A comparison of public and private accreditation schemes in higher education. Higher Education Policy, 19(1), 65-85. 12.\tStewart, F. (1996). Globalisation and education. International Journal of Educational Development, 16(4), 327-333. 13.\tTrapnell, J. E. (2007). AACSB International accreditation: The value proposition and a look to the future. Journal of Management Development, 26(1), 67-72. 14.\tVroeijenstijn, A. I. (1995). Improvement and Accountability: Navigating between Scylla and Charybdis. Guide for External Quality Assessment in Higher Education. Higher Education Policy Series 30. 15.\tTaylor and Francis, 1900 Frost Rd., Suite 101, Bristol, PA 19007-1598. Vulliamy*, G. (2004). The impact of globalization on qualitative research in comparative and international education. Compare, 34(3), 261-284. 16.\thttp://www.ugc.ac.in/ 17.\thttp://www.naac.gov.in/ http://www.nbaind.org/"]}

The paper exhibits a reasonable system with regards to Knowledge Management (KM) in Business Schools (B-schools) in India. We trust that if the system is embraced in business colleges, it will yield more advantages to expand the nature of information sharing. There has been surely an outlook change in administration training in India. The new type of administration experts should be productive to handle issues from cross practical, social and moral points of view and outfitted with aptitudes to seat mark for worldwide authority positions. There has been a crying need to introduce a quality development and to benchmark the same with world models. We have made an endeavor to bolster our structure by breaking down one of the Knowledge Management apparatuses that was executed in India's Test Institute of Management (TIM), (a pen name given to cover the organization's name). This paper concentrates on the information administration instrument and elements that are actualized in TIM and a few issues that impeded learning administration hones at TIM., {"references":["1.\tAkgun, A.E., Lynn, G.S. and Byrne, J.C. (2003) 'Organizational learning: a sociocognitive Framework', Human Relations, Vol. 56, pp.839–868. 2.\tAwad, M., Elias, Ghaziri, M. and Hassan. (2004) Knowledge Management, Pearson Education Inc., Prentice Hall, pp.1-9. 3.\tBenbya, H., Passiante, G. and Belbaly, N.A. (2004) 'Corporate portal: A tool for Knowledge Management Synchronization', International Journal of Information Management, 24, pp.201- 220. [ 4.\tBernbom, G. (1999) Institution-wide information management and its assessment, In Katz, R. and Rudy, J. (Eds), Information technology in higher education: Assessing its impact and planning for the future, 102, pp.71-83. 5.\tBieber, M., Engelbart, D., Furuta, R., Hiltz, S.R., Noll, J., Preece, J., Stohr, E.A., Turoff, M. and Van de Walle, B. (2002) 'Toward virtual community knowledge evolution', Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 18, pp.11–36. 6.\tBrown, J. S. and Duguid, P. (2000) The Social Life of Information, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. 7.\tChou, S. and Tsai, Y. (2004) 'Knowledge creation: Individual and organizational perspectives', Information Systems, Vol 30, No 3, pp.205-218. 8.\tCorbitt, B., Bradley, T. and Thanasankit, T. (2005) Factors influencing the implementation and use of a portal for knowledge management in higher education. In Proceedings of the 9th Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems, Bangkok, Thailand. 9.\tCross, R. and Baird, L. (2000) 'Technology is not enough: improving performance by building organizational memory', Sloan Management Review, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp.69–79. 10.\tDavenport, T. H. and Prusak, L. (2000) Working Knowledge, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. 11.\tDuffy, J. (2000) 'Knowledge Management: To be or not to be', Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology © 2007 JATIT. All rights reserved. www.jatit.org 24 Information Management Journal, 34(1), pp.64-67. 12.\tEarl, M. (2001) 'Knowledge management strategies', Journal of Management Information Systems, Vol. 18, pp.215–233. 13.\tEasterby-Smith, M., Crossan, M. and Nicolini, D. (2000) 'Organizational learning: debates past, present and future', Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 37, pp.783–796. 14.\tEisenhardt, K.M. and Martin, J.A. (2000) 'Dynamic capabilities: what are they', Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 20, pp.1105–1121. 15.\tFermie, S., Green, S.D., Weller, S.J. and Newcombe, R. (2003) 'Knowledge Sharing Context: confusion and controversy', International Journal of Project Management, Vol.21, No.3, pp.177-187. 16.\tFriedman, D. and Hoffman, P. (2001) 'The politics of Information', Change, Vol.33, No.2, pp.50-57. 17.\tGrant, R. (1996) 'Toward a knowledgebased theory of the firm', Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 17, pp.109– 122. 18.\tHansen, M., Nohria, N. and Tierney, T. (1999) 'What's your Strategy for Managing Knowledge?' Harvard Business Review, March/April. 19.\tHansen, M.T., Nohria, N. and Tierney, T. (1999) 'What's your strategy for managing knowledge?' Harvard Business Review, Vol. 77, No. 2, pp.106–116. 20.\tHildreth, P., Kimble, C. and Wright, P. (2000) Communities of Practice in the Distributed International Environment, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol 4, 1, pp.7-37."]}

Separation Learning or Distance Education is method of preparing which utilizes distinctive assortments of showing strategies like virtual classroom, e-learning or a blend of these to countless who are scattered in various area and not seating in a physical single classroom like in consistent method of instruction. With help of separation learning method of training , understudies can get taught without going to the physical classroom and they can contemplate according to their benefit at their own pace and with a great deal of adaptability of time. In the greater part of the administration instruction separation learning programs, understudies have adaptability of joining the project in various clusters consistently, where as in customary classroom based training , in India, regularly there is stand out affirmation group beginning around June consistently. Further, a separation learning understudy can do contemplate through video based address and also self learning mode books, e-learning toolboxs and so on according to their benefit. Indeed, even the exams have parcel of adaptability implicit for separation learning understudies., {"references":["1.\tBullen, M. 'Distance Education & Technology Continuing Studies' 1996. Available at http://www. cstudies.ubc.ca/disted (retrieved 13th May 2012). 2.\tEdge, W.D. and Loegering, J.P. 'Distance Education: Expanding Learning Opportunities'. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 28(3):2000, 522-533. 3.\tFred Jevons. 'Distance Education and campus – based education: Parity of Esteem'. 4.\tEds. Peter Smith and Movis Kelley. Distance Education and the Mainstream. London: Cross Helm, 1987.12 Garrison, D. R. (1989). 5.\tUnderstanding Distance Education: A Framework for the Future. London: Routledge, 1989. 6.\tGoel, A. & Goel, S.L. Distance Education in 21st Century. Deep and Deep Publication, New Delhi, 2009. 7.\tJackman, D. & Swan, M. Alternative instructional models for IVN delivery (Vol. 1). Fargo: North Dakota State University, Central Duplicating, 1994. 8.\tKeegan, D. The Foundations of Distance Education. London: Croom Helm, 1986. Keegan, D. 'On Defining Distance Education'. Distance Education, 1(1):1980, 13-36. Keegan, D. Foundations of Distance Education. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, New York, 1996, 10-50. 9.\tKerka, S. 'Deterrents to Participation in Adult Education' 1986 ERIC Digest No. 59, ED275889 86. 10.\tKnapper, C. 'Lifelong Learning and Distance Education'. American Journal of Distance Education, 2(1):1988, 63-72. 11.\tKnowles, M. The Modern Practice of Adult Education: From Pedagogy to Andragogy. Chicago: Follett Publishers, 1980. Kukulska-Hulme, A. and Traxler, J. 'Designing for mobile and wireless learning'.Eds. Beetham, H. & Sharpe, R. Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age: Designing and Delivering e-learning. London: Routledge, 2007.180-192. 12.\tMeacham, D. & Evans, D. 'Distance Education: The Design of Study Materials'. Journal of Management Education 44:1989, 661-679. Rekkedal, T. 1985. 'Introducing the Personal Tutor/ counsellor in the System of Distance Education'. Project report 2: Final report. NKI, Stabekk, Norway."]}

The cytotoxicity of aldehydes was studied using human primary bronchial epithelial cells (PBEC) cultured at the air-liquid interface (ALI) or under submerged conditions. PBEC were exposed for 30min via the air phase to acrolein (0.1-1mg/m

Introduction Humans are exposed to aldehydes in a variety of environmental situations. Aldehydes generally have a strong odor and are highly irritating to the mucous membranes. Knowledge about odor perception and especially irritation potency in humans is thus essential in risk assessment and regulation, e.g. setting occupational exposure limits. However, data on odor and irritation are lacking or limited for several aldehydes. The aim of the study was to determine the odor and lateralization thresholds of some commonly occurring aldehydes. Acrolein and crotonaldehyde where chosen as they are formed when organic material is heated or burned, e.g. during cigarette smoking. n-Hexanal was also included as it is emitted from wood pellets and fibreboard. Material and methods To study odor and lateralization thresholds of these aldehydes, a novel, inexpensive olfactometer was designed to enable delivery of reliable and stable test concentrations and thus valid measures of thresholds. The delivery system consists of seven syringe pumps, each connected to a Tedlar bag containing a predefined concentration of the tested aldehyde vapor. To validate the threshold measures, a test-retest was performed with a separate method, namely odor delivery via amber bottles. Twenty healthy naive individuals were tested. Results The median odor thresholds of acrolein, crotonaldehyde and hexanal were 17, 0.8, and 97 ppb, respectively. No lateralization threshold could be identified for acrolein (highest tested concentration was 2 940 ppb in 5 subjects), whereas the medians were 3 and 390 ppb for the latter two. In addition, odor thresholds for n-hexanal were also determined using two methods where similar results were obtained, suggesting that the olfactometer presentation method is valid. Conclusion We found olfactory detection and lateralization thresholds (except for acrolein) in alliance with, or lower than, previously reported in naive subjects. The new olfactometer allows better control of presentations timing and vapor concentration.

In recent years we are observing devastating cyclones like Nargis, Gonu, Sidr, Liala, Phet etc in the North Indian Ocean associated with heavy rains, thunderstorm, high tide and intense winds that caused shocking destructions in the coastal areas. As these are originating over the Ocean and propagating towards land, they also change physical property as well as biological structure of the Ocean. In recent years, several attempts were made to associate tropical cyclone trends with climate change resulting from green house warming. The studies have indicated an increase in intense cyclones in the Arabian Sea. Time series analysis of ocean colour data have revealed rapid and profound change in the productivity pattern over the last few years in the Arabian Sea that appears to be related to the warming trends being experienced over the Asian subcontinent. In view of the above, a study was carried out to examine the frequency of cyclonic disturbances in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal and its effect in modulating the productivity patterns. Data on the monthly and annual occurrences of tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea were collected from 1908 to 2007 from SAARC Meteorological Research Centre and Indian Meteorological Department. Sea surface temperature (SST) from NOAA-AVHRR and phytoplankton biomass indexed as chlorophyll-a concentration from Sea WiFs for ten years (1998-2007) were used to study the physical and biological effects of cyclonic events in the Arabian Sea (AS) and the Bay of Bengal (BOB). Analysis of the monthly and annual occurrences of tropical cyclone reveals an increasing trend of cyclonic disturbances in the AS whereas there is a decreasing trend in the BOB in the last decade (1998-2007). SST analysis indicates decrease in monthly average SST by 1.5℃ to 1.75℃ in the AS and 1.5℃ to 1.25℃ in the BOB in the pre-monsoon season. Phytoplankton biomass was observed to increase by a factor of two after the passage of cyclone. Results of the ten year analysis and comparison with the climatology showed that frequent occurrence of cyclonic events that cause short term-nutrient enrichment of upper-stratified ocean resulting in enhanced biological productivity and perturbations in the otherwise stable and seasonally-varying ecological structure of the North Indian Ocean.

We present new data on N uptake rates and f-ratios in the north-eastern (NE) Arabian Sea, where significant amounts of Trichodesmium were present in spring, 2006. The measured total nitrogen uptake rates ranged from 0.34 to 1.58 mmol N . fixation associated with Trichodesmium varied from 0.002 to 0.54 mmol N estimated from the abundance of Trichodesmium and specific fixation rates of 1.5 pmol N trichome. Inclusion of fixation rates significantly changes f-ratios particularly in the coastal stations. Nitrogen isotopic data of surface suspended particles suggest that recently fixed nitrogen contributes as high as ~79% of the nitrogen in surface suspended particles. In addition, water column gained ~30 mmol N in the form of nitrate, likely due to nitrification of ammonium released by Trichodesmium. For better estimations, direct measurement of fixation is recommended.

This study uses synergistic application of satellite-derived chlorophyll concentration (CC), sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface wind (SSW) for forecasting potential fishing zones (PFZs). PFZs are validated in near-real time through fishing operations and detailed statistical analysis of fishing operation data. CC and SST images were derived from Indian Remote Sensing Satellite-Ocean Colour Monitor (IRS-OCM) and NOAA-AVHRR, respectively, to delineate the oceanographic features exhibiting different oceanic processes. QuikSCAT/SeaWinds derived sea surface wind vectors were used to understand, quantify and demonstrate the variability of wind-induced water mass flow as well as their impacts on features/oceanographic process. Oceanographic features such as eddies, rings and fronts were found to be shifted according to the speed and direction of the wind. An algorithm was developed to compute water mass transport and feature shift. An improved methodology was developed and demonstrated using these prime variables, which are responsible for fishery resources distribution. PFZ forecasts were generated and validated through near-real-time fishing operations. The fishing operations data were taken from the logbooks of fishing vessels for detailed statistical analysis. On average, 80% of observations were recorded with more yield than monthly mean catch in the respective areas. A paired t-test showed statistically significant results.

An anthropometric device (AD) was designed and developed to collect data on foot and knee of locomotor disabled people. The aim was to standardize the sizes of knee-ankle-foot orthoses (KAFOs) in a standard modular form so that they can be mass produced to cater for fitting to a large number of locomotor disabled people. The anthropometric data collected on large numbers of locomotor disabled people were processed, with the help of a computer programme, to arrive at standard sizes for three modules, i.e. a foot plate (seven sizes), knee pieces (six sizes) and a lateral upright in a universal size. These modules were produced by plastic injection moulding and compression moulding processes using glass-reinforced polypropylene. KAFOs were assembled and fitted to locomotor disabled people. Feedback obtained was encouraging and this vindicated the concept, design and utility of the AD.

Ecological associations are the inter-relationship between the species and their environment. Oceanographic processes like upwelling events and formation of eddies, rings, and fronts have been monitored using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Advanced Very High Resolution (NOAA AVHRR) and Indian Remote Sensing Satellite-P4-Ocean Colour Monitor (IRS-OCM) data. Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and chlorophyll concentration (CC) images were derived from AVHRR and OCM, respectively. Upwelling event was monitored using AVHRR-SST by detecting the differences in surface water temperature. The formation of eddies, rings, cyclonic eddies, and anticyclonic eddies and their biological responses were studied using CC. Eddies and rings were found with high phytoplankton production in the form of bloom, which provide grazing ground for fishes. The anticyclonic eddies were found with very low CC, indicating the biological deserts in the ocean. The impacts of these processes on fish catch were studied using fishing operations data procured from Fishery Survey of India. In this paper, the occurrence of different oceanographic processes, their persistence, and relevance with catch statistics of fishery resources in the study area are discussed. The study explains the potentials of satellite remote sensing to establish the habitat linkage between oceanographic processes and fishery resources.

The formation of winter bloom (January-March) was studied in deep waters of the northeastern Arabian Sea (NAS) during 2003 and 2004. Six ship cruises were undertaken at different phases of the bloom to examine its formation. Along with physical and biological observations, optical parameters including profiles of upwelling and downwelling irradiance were collected using a Satlantic underwater radiometer and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was calculated using prosoft software. Satellite data sets for chlorophyll concentration, aerosol optical depth (AOD), PAR from the Oceansat-I Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM), and sea winds vectors from the QuikSCAT scatterometer were also used to study the winter algal bloom formation. This study attempts to explain the probable mechanisms that activate the bloom and its dynamics, particularly those due to the influence of wind. The study also presents an intercomparison of relevant parameters during different phases of the event, from the late winter to early spring intermonsoon season. The causes of winter bloom reported by other investigators have been verified with the use of satellite data. An additional observation was attempted that strengthened the explanation of convective mixing and resulting intensification of the bloom. The higher wind speed in February-March 2003 compared to that in 2004 caused a higher aerosol concentration in the overlying atmosphere, thus leading to reduced shortwave solar radiation and PAR over the surface in 2003. This caused a cooling effect in the NAS deep waters. This cooling is thought to be supplementary to the already reported winter cooling, and to cooling due to evaporation. As a result, a substantial increase in surface seawater density was observed, consequently enhancing convective action due to densification and nutrient concentration. The result is that the bloom was homogeneous in space and had a larger concentration during March 2003 than March 2004.

An empirical chlorophyll algorithm has been developed using the coincident in situ chlorophyll-a and remote sensing reflectance Rrs measurements from global ocean waters. The basic data set used for developing the algorithm was obtained by merging the bio-optical data from the global NASA bio-Optical Marine Algorithm Data (NOMAD) (~2438 spectra from ~3000 stations) and from the waters of the northern Arabian Sea (~159 spectra) collected by the Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, India. The chlorophyll-a concentration ranged from 0.01 to 50.0 mg ldr m-3 for the data set used. Regression analysis between chlorophyll-a concentration and remote sensing reflectance in different bands and a combination of band ratios was performed. Algorithms using modified cubic polynomial (MCP) regression of Rrs ratios with chlorophyll-a concentration showed good estimates of chlorophyll-a in full range of 0.01 to 50.0 mg ldr m-3 of the merged data set. However, the best results were obtained by using MCP regression between maximum band ratio (MBR) of Rrs (443, 490, 510 nm)/Rrs 555 nm with chlorophyll-a concentration having an r2 of 0.96 and rms error of 0.12 for log-transformed data. The developed MBR-based algorithm named Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM)-2 chlorophyll algorithm was compared with the OC4v4 algorithm routinely used the for Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) data processing. For the used data set, OC4v4 algorithm overestimated chlorophyll-a concentration for > 5.0 mg ldr m-3 and yielded an r2 of 0.90 with rms error of 0.23, when compared to the newly developed OCM-2 chlorophyll algorithm. It is proposed to use this OCM-2 chlorophyll algorithm with OCEANSAT-2 OCM data to be launched in the third quarter of the year 2008 by the Indian Space Research Organisation.

An approach was developed using the IRS P4 Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) for the estimation of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR). Bird's clear sky model will be implemented using IRS P4 OCM data on an operational basis. IRS P4 OCM data (bands 6 and 8) were used in the present study to provide an instantaneous estimation of aerosol optical depth using the exponential approach. The transmittance coefficient required for aerosol optical depth was computed as a next step. This was further incorporated in Bird's clear sky model with other atmospheric transmittance coefficients due to absorption from water vapour, ozone, and uniformly mixed gases. Spectral irradiance was integrated over photosynthetically active wavelengths (400-700 nm), which provides instantaneous photosynthetically available radiation (IPAR) at the sea surface. Ship cruise data (SK 171 and SK 186) for PAR using Satalantic radiometer was compared with IRS P4 OCM derived IPAR within 5.2% accuracy on average for two different monsoon seasons in the Arabian sea. The root mean square error between the observed PAR (in situ) and estimated (model-derived) PAR was found to be 21.28 W m-2. This IPAR value is an important parameter for primary productivity estimation and will be used to compute primary productivity on an operational basis using IRS P4 OCM data.

An artificial neural network (ANN) based chlorophyll-a algorithm was developed to estimate chlorophyll-a concentration using OCEANSAT-I Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) satellite-data. A multi-layer perceptron (MLP) type neural network was trained using simulated reflectances (~60,000 spectra) with known chlorophyll-a concentration, corresponding to the first five spectral bands of OCM. The correlation coefficient(r2) andRMSE for the log transformed training data was found to be 0.99 and 0.07, respectively. The performance of the developed ANN-based algorithm was tested with the global SeaWiFS Bio-optical Algorithm Mini Workshop (SeaBAM) data (~919 spectra), 0.86 and 0.13 were observed asr2 andRMSE for the test data set. The algorithm was further validated with thein-situ bio-optical data collected in the northeastern Arabian Sea (~215 spectra), ther2 andRMSE were observed as 0.87 and 0.12 for this regional data set. Chlorophyll-a images were generated by applying the weight and bias matrices obtained during the training, on the normalized water leaving radiances (nLW) obtained from the OCM data after atmospheric correction. The chlorophyll-a image generated using ANN based algorithm and global Ocean Chlorophyll-4 (OC4) algorithm was compared. Chlorophyll-a estimated using both the algorithms showed a good correlation for the open ocean regions. However, in the coastal waters the ANN algorithm estimated relatively smaller concentrations, when compared to OC4 estimated chlorophyll-a.

Context: Acrolein is a reactive aldehyde mainly formed by combustion. The critical effect is considered to be irritation of the eyes and airways; however, the scarce data available make it difficult to assess effect levels. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine thresholds for acute irritation for acrolein. Methods: Nine healthy volunteers of each sex were exposed at six occasions for 2 h at rest to: clean air, 15 ppm ethyl acetate (EA), and 0.05 ppm and 0.1 ppm acrolein with and without EA (15 ppm) to mask the potential influence of odor. Symptoms related to irritation and central nervous system effects were rated on 100-mm Visual Analogue Scales. Results: The ratings of eye irritation were slightly but significantly increased during exposure to acrolein in a dose-dependent manner (p

Natural variations in fish stocks are caused by complex interactions of oceanic physical, chemical and biological processes. The prediction of marine ecosystem structures and functions depends on a...

Satellite sensor data analysis, generation of fishery forecast, validation procedure, feedback analysis and results of validation experiments are discussed in this Letter. Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS-P4) Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) derived chlorophyll concentration and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (NOAA-AVHRR) derived sea surface temperature (SST) images were integrated to generate a fishery forecast. The matching chlorophyll and SST features were selected to suggest potential fishing zones (PFZs). Actual fishing using trawlers in the suggested PFZs was carried out to validate the fishery forecast. The feedback in terms of CPUE (catch per unit effort) was analysed to evaluate the technique. The CPUEs were categorized based on mean (µ) and standard deviation (SD). The categorized catch points were plotted on images. High fish catch points were found in the vicinity of matching features. About 80 per cent of observations in 50–100 m depth z...

Near-synchronous Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) derived chlorophyll concentration and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) derived sea surface temperature (SST) images were used to understand patterns, persistence and inter-relationship between ocean colour and thermal features. Different types of oceanic features were observed on chlorophyll concentration and SST images. An inverse relationship between chlorophyll concentration and SST features was observed. The features observed in the chlorophyll concentration images were well defined and appeared to contained more information than those on the SST images. The frontal zone positions on the chlorophyll concentration images coincided with temperature boundaries at some locations. This coincidence indicates that the physical and bio-chemical processes are closely coupled at these locations. High fish catch points were found in the vicinity of these features. A synergistic analysis of chlorophyll concentration and SST may increase our understanding of the inter-relationship between environmental variables for locating potential fishing grounds.

During the last 4 years, 147 patients suffering from portal hypertension with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding were subjected to emergency endoscopy soon after they were resuscitated. Seventeen (11.5%) patients were referred to us with a clinical diagnosis other than portal hypertension. The causes of bleeding as seen during endoscopy were: oesophageal varices ( n = 130; 88%), gastric varices ( n =11), gastric ulcer ( n = 2) portal hypertensive gastropathy ( n = 2) and erosive gastritis and duodenal ulcer in one patient each. All patient bleeding from oesophageal varices except one underwent emergency endoscopic sclerotherapy. One hundred and twenty-one (94%) stopped bleeding immediately. Rebleeding was seen in 11% and was effectively controlled by a second session of sclerotherapy in all but one patient. Twenty (14%) patients died. It is concluded that emergency endoscopy has a definite role in the management of patients with portal hypertension complicated by gastrointestinal bleeding.

Background and Study Aims : Conventionally, acute cholangitis is managed by placing a nasobiliary drainage catheter. We have attempted to place a biliary endoprosthesis in such patients as an alternative to using nasobiliary catheter drainage. Patients and Methods : Twenty-seven patients with acute cholangitis were managed by placement of 7-Fr straight biliary endoprostheses instead of using nasobiliary drainage catheters to decompress the biliary system. The procedure was carried out without sphincterotomy and without image intensification. Results : Biliary endoprosthesis placement was successfully carried out in all the patients. Definitive treatment was then provided to all but four patients, who either had inoperable cancers or were at high risk for surgery. Early stent occlusion occurred in one patient, and in another patient the Dormia basket became entrapped while stones were being removed from the common bile duct. There were no mortalities. Conclusions : Biliary endoprosthesis placement is safe, easy to perform, and is a cheaper alternative to endoscopic nasobiliary drainage.

Food is given great importance in Ayurveda. Dietetics is a pre-requisite to leading a healthy life. The author outlines the significance of this point in the article.

Vitiligo is an acquired pigmentary disorder resulting from loss of melanocytes. Interleukin (IL)-4 has been shown to stimulate B-cell proliferation, to regulate immunoglobulin class switching (IgG1 and IgE) and to promote T-cell development. Polymorphisms in the IL4 gene are known to increase its expression, thereby implicating its role in vitiligo susceptibility.To explore intron 3 VNTR (IVS3) and -590 C/T (rs2243250) promoter polymorphisms in the IL4 gene and to correlate them with the IL4 transcript, serum IL-4 and IgE levels to achieve genotype-phenotype correlation in patients with vitiligo from Gujarat. A replication study was done in a North Indian population.The case-control study was performed to investigate these polymorphisms in 505 patients and 744 controls in Gujarat, and 596 patients and 397 controls in North India by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. IL4 transcript levels were monitored by real-time PCR. Serum IL-4 and IgE levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and electrochemiluminescence immunoassay, respectively.The genotype frequencies differed significantly between patients with generalized vitiligo and controls for both the polymorphisms in both populations. Allele frequencies significantly differed between patients with generalized vitiligo and controls for both the polymorphisms in the population from Gujarat. Interestingly, genotype and allele frequencies for -590 C/T single nucleotide polymorphism were significantly different between patients with localized vitiligo and controls in both the populations. The study revealed significantly increased IL4 mRNA, serum IL-4 and IgE levels in patients from Gujarat. Age of onset analysis of disease in patients suggested that the TTR2R2, TTR1R2 and CTR2R2 haplotypes had a profound effect in the early onset of the disease.Our results suggest that these polymorphisms of the IL4 gene may be genetic risk factors for susceptibility towards vitiligo and the upregulation of the IL4 transcript, protein and IgE levels in individuals with susceptible haplotypes reveal the crucial role of IL-4 in the pathogenesis of vitiligo.

A large number of abstracts dealing with colonoscopy were presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW; 7 – 10 May 2011; Chicago, Illinois, USA). Topics included: new techniques in colonoscopy, recent innovations in endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS), prevention of postpolypectomy bleeding, Raman spectroscopy, bowel preparation during colonoscopy, risk factors for high grade dysplasia (HGD) in colonic adenoma, recent advances in endoscopic treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC), and follow-up of HGD and CRC after endoscopic treatment. This review focuses on the most relevant presentations dealing with colon tumours and colonoscopy.

Losartan, an antihypertensive agent in clinical development, was found to exist in two enantiotropic polymorphic forms, a low-temperature stable form (Form I) and a high-temperature stable form (Form II), the temperatures at which they are stable being related to the transition temperature. X-ray powder diffraction patterns indicated differences in the crystal packing of the two forms. The vibrational data from infrared and Raman spectroscopy suggested a subtle change in molecular conformation and crystal packing in the two forms. Solid-state 13C NMR data of the polymorphs concurred with the vibrational data and indicated that, while the observed line widths reflect no major changes in crystallinity, signal multiplicities and chemical shifts do reflect differences in molecular packing in the respective unit cells. Thus, in the absence of crystallographic data, useful structural information could be derived from spectroscopic results to identify each of the crystalline forms.

The uptake of dissolved inorganic nitrogen by phytoplankton is an important aspect of the nitrogen cycle of oceans. Here, we present nitrate (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+) uptake rates in the northeastern Arabian Sea using 15N tracer technique. In this relatively underexplored region, productivity is high during winter due to supply of nutrients by convective mixing caused by the cooling of the surface by the northeast monsoon winds. Studies done during different months (January and late February-early March) of the northeast monsoon 2003 revealed a fivefold increase in the average euphotic zone integrated NO3- uptake from January (2.3 mmolN m−2d−1) to late February-early March (12.7 mmolN m−2d−1). The f-ratio during January appeared to be affected by the winter cooling effect and increased by more than 50% from the southernmost station to the northern open ocean stations, indicating hydrographic and meteorological control. Estimates of NO3- residence time suggested that NO3- entrained in the water column during January contributed to the development of blooms during late February-early March.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), the principal physiological inhibitor of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), is a protein of 379 amino acids and belongs to the SERPIN family of serine protease inhibitors. We have previously described methods to express [Sisk et al. (1990) Gene 96, 305-309] and purify [Reilly et al. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 9570-9574] a highly active form of the protein in substantial amounts, from Escherichia coli. Further analyses of this material showed the presence of small but significant amounts of latent rPAI-1. The present paper describes for the first time purification of latent and active forms of rPAI-1 from a single preparation, as well as the functional and structural characteristics of the two forms. Latent rPAI-1, which has properties similar to the latent forms described by other groups, was separated from active rPAI-1 by high-resolution ion-exchange chromatography or by affinity chromatography using immobilized anhydrotrypsin. It had low intrinsic activity (< 5% of active rPAI-1) and was partially reactivated by guanidine hydrochloride treatment or by incubation with vitronectin. Conversion of the active rPAI-1 to the latent form was influenced by temperature and additives including sucrose, EDTA, and arginine. Active and latent rPAI-1 did not show any obvious differences in their primary structures and displayed remarkably similar secondary structures as determined by circular dichroism spectral analyses. However, they did exhibit differences in tryptophan fluorescence, suggesting tertiary structural differences between the two forms.

Functionally active recombinant plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (rPAI-1) has been purified from bacterial cells in the absence of any discrete binding protein. In the present study, vitronectin, which is known to stabilise the natural form of PAI-1, was evaluated for its effects on the activity and structure of rPAI-1. As assessed by PAI-1 activity assays, purified human vitronectin was shown to stabilise rPAI-1, by doubling its half-life at 25° and 37°C, and to enhance the activity of rPAI-1 in concentration-dependent fashion. Vitronectin also restored partial activity to a latent form of rPAI-1 prepared by a 72h incubation at 37°C. Fluorescence spectroscopy studies revealed that rPAI-1 in association with vitronectin displayed a higher tryptophan emission signal than the sum of the emissions of the individual components. These results suggest that vitronectin effects on rPAI-1 activity may result from specific conformational effects induced upon binding of the two proteins.

Fuel cells are receiving growing interest in recent years since they represent one of the most promising energy source to reduce pollutant emission. We propose some new dehydrated salts as an electrolyte in the intermediate temperature fuel cell. The proton conduction in the dehydrated salts was established by the study of DTA/TGA, infrared spectroscopic study, transference number, bulk electrical conductivity measurement and emf study. The electrical conductivity of the dehydrated salts becomes ionic and increases 100-1000 times in the hydrogen ambient with respect to vacuum.