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In this present study, floating microspheres of repaglinide were successfully fabricated by the solvent evaporation technique with varying ratios of guar gum, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, and ethylcellulose with polyvinyl alcohol. Microspheres were characterized by production yield, particle size, in vitro buoyancy, entrapment efficiency, in vitro drug release, and in vivo floating behavior in albino rats. The formulation process was optimized for stirring speed (X1) and concentration of polymer ratio (X2) on dependent variables such as percentage entrapment efficiency, percentage yield, in vitro buoyancy, and percentage of drug release by the 32 factorial Design-Expert® 12, trial version, software. The optimized formulation was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy and was successfully formulated with the highest percentage of cumulative drug release (94.26 ± 3.10), entrapment efficiency (74.70% ± 2.16%), and particle size (50.34 ± 3.67 μm) and remains buoyant for 24 h in simulated gastric fluid (0.1N HCL) with high in vitro buoyancy percent (84.90 ± 2.88). When the drug–polymer solution of dichloromethane and ethanol is dropped in polyvinyl alcohol solution, it leads to the formation of a shell and produces cavities, creating the buoyant nature of floating microspheres. X-ray imaging indicates the uniform distribution and buoyant nature of microspheres in the gastric fluid for a 10-h period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Burr type-XII distribution have considered for the Bayes estimation under the linear exponential (LINEX) loss function. We consider here type-I progressive hybrid (T-IPH) censoring criterion, combined with step-stress partially accelerated life (SS-PALT) test for the present study. The Bayes risks under simulation using Metropolis-Hastings (M-H) algorithm and the real data set has obtained from the LINEX loss function. Based on the Bayes risks we discussed here the fruitfulness of the above scenario under three different criteria. The optimal stress change time also has been measured by the method of minimization of the asymptotic variance of maximum likelihood (ML) estimation. The Bayes estimator under squared loss function and their mean squared error also has been obtained for comparing under the above scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In coffee, the micropropagation technique can be efficiently used in mass multiplication of superior F1 hybrids which is difficult using the conventional method. However, the in vitro regeneration protocol is genotype-specific. Therefore the development of an efficient regeneration protocol is critical to the success of large scale propagation of any coffee hybrids. In the present study, regeneration of two improved rust tolerant arabica hybrids S.4202 and S.4932 was achieved through somatic embryogenesis. The MS media supplemented with different concentrations of 2, 4-D, IAA and Kn were tested for callus induction using foliar explants. The optimum somatic embryogenesis in S.4202 and S.4932 was obtained when explants were incubated in callus induction media containing 0.4 to 0.6 mg/l 2, 4-D. The in vitro regenerated plants were planted in the field and were found to be phenotypically normal. The genetic fidelity of in vitro regenerated plants of both the genotypes along with their mother plant was tested using 20 SRAP and 12 SCoT markers. The average genetic similarity between the tissue culture-derived plants and mother plants of S.4202 was 0.977 using SRAP and 0.987 using SCoT markers. Similarly, the average genetic similarity between the mother plant and the in vitro derived plants of S.4932 was 0.966 and 0.993 using SRAP and SCoT markers respectively. The differential fragments amplified by SRAP primers in the regenerated plants were sequenced and in silico analysis of the fragments revealed the occurrence of somaclonal variation in the coding region with functional attribution to zinc finger protein. Key message: Plant regeneration through somatic embryogenesis was achieved in two improved cultivars of Coffea arabica. The genetic fidelity of in vitro regenerated plants was tested using both SRAP and SCoT molecular markers. The differential fragments amplified in in vitro regenerated plants using SRAP primers were sequenced and in silico analysis revealed the genomic alterations in the coding region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fog computing is a computing infrastructure that supports data distribution between cloud and source in an efficient manner. Building an effective and generalized model for efficient resource selection and allocation mechanism seems to be complex in fog computing. Allocation and selection mechanisms in such environment fall into a class of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problems. The existing MCDM methods may not be suitable for fog computing environment as these problems are distributed, scalable and dynamic. We propose an adaptive multi-criteria decision-making (A-MCDM) model to obtain an optimal ranking of alternatives in dynamic and scalable environments. The time complexity of the proposed A-MCDM is O(nm) in general, and it takes only O(m) time to assign a rank to an alternative where n is the number of criteria and m is the number of alternatives. The performance of the proposed model has been analyzed and found to be better than other MCDM methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coffea arabica L. is the only cultivated tetraploid species in the genus Coffea and it contributes more than 61% to the total world coffee production. Arabica produces superior beverage quality compared to robusta coffee but is susceptible to a number of pests and diseases. Improved varieties of arabica coupled with durable disease resistance can be achieved by incorporating novel sources of genetic variation from diverse germplasm sources. Assessment of genetic diversity within the germplasm pool is a prerequisite for estimating its true breeding potential. In the present study, 42 world germplasm accession of arabica were screened with co-dominant sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers. Twenty-one SRAP combinations amplified a total of 171 fragments of which 116 (67.83%) were polymorphic and 5.47% were rare alleles. A total of 171 alleles with 8.14 alleles per marker were identified and the average polymorphism information content (PIC) value was 0.28. Based on the Jaccard's similarity coefficient the UPGMA dendrogram differentiated all the 42 accessions, with genetic similarity estimates ranging from 0.59 to 0.98. The model-based Bayesian analysis of population structure using the admixture model grouped the 42 arabica germplasm accessions into two ancestral groups. The diversity and structural analysis of 42 arabica world collections identified 11 arabica diverse germplasm accessions and clearly demonstrated the suitability of SRAP markers for coffee genetic diversity studies. These accessions should be analyzed for agronomic and quality parameters, and the same can be utilized in arabica improvement programs. Further, these accessions need to be conserved to enrich arabica diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to examine the extent of corporate social reporting practices in the annual reports of companies in India and to ascertain the differences if any, between public sector and private sector companies and to investigate what were the determinants of corporate social reporting. The study intends to answer the research questions which include: a) what variables could represent a Conceptual Model of Corporate Social Reporting consisting of dependent variables and Independent variables? b) What are the factors of Corporate Social Reporting (COSOR) and how valid and reliable are these factors? c) What is the degree of COSOR by factors in public and private sector companies? d) What are the determinants of COSOR? What is the level of their influence on COSOR?. A sample of 120 listed companies of National Stock Exchange of India was chosen and they were stratified into public and private sector companies. A Corporate social reporting Index was constructed for data collection through content analysis from the annual reports. The results of the study revealed that social accounting information were disclosed in company's annual reports, chairman's speech, directors' reports, notes to accounts, schedule to accounts and auditor's report. The degree of corporate social reporting varies between public sector and private sector companies. The public sector companies have disclosed more corporate social reporting information than the private sector companies. The study found that higher the level of capital employed, earnings before depreciation and taxes, total assets and total sales higher was the level of corporate social reporting. However, the degree of influence of determinants on corporate social reporting was different among public and private sector companies. Most of the companies have disclosed corporate social information on voluntary basis. To improve the understanability, uniformity, and comparability of corporate social information, this study suggests making it mandatory. A standard format for disclosure of corporate social information shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs by amending the Indian Companies Act. The concept of social accounting is relatively new in India. This study suggests to include it in the commerce curriculum and also in the curriculum of CA/CWA/CS. Corporate Social Reporting is such a vast area of research that no single study can cover different dimensions related to it. Though some studies including the present study have been conducted on Corporate Social Reporting Practices in India, but still there is much potential of research in this area. Future research in this area will hopefully bring more brightening result measuring and analysing social costs and benefits data by manager as well as by other concerned. Since the subject is in the primary stage, an in-depth research is needed to be done in different sectors such as banking information technology, manufacturing etc. The results are specifically applicable to sample companies and generalisations can be made with caution. The results of the study are based on the data collected from published annual reports of sample companies using content analysis method. Corporate social reporting in company websites, brochures etc are not covered. Social cost and benefit analysis is not covered in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trichoderma are commonly used as bio control agents in various agro ecosystems. They are known to produce a variety of compounds that induce resistance responses in plants. Among different species of Trichoderma, T. harzianum, T. viride, T. koningii and T. hamatum are commercially used as bio control agents. In the present study, four commercially important species of Trichoderma isolated from coffee ecosystem were screened with sequence related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers. Among 48 SRAP primer pairs tested, 29 primers were polymorphic and generated 316 distinct scorable fragments. Out of 347 amplified fragments, 177 fragments were found polymorphic with an average of 6.10 fragments per primer combination. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) and resolving power (Rp) of the 29 polymorphic SRAP primer pair were 0.42 and 14.62, respectively. The UPGMA dendrogram clearly divided Trichoderma species into two broad clusters. The highest homology (83.0%) was observed between T. viride and T. Harzianum and the lowest homology (74.0%) was observed between T. Harzianum and T. konangii. Further, among 29 polymorphic SRAP markers screened, four primer pairs (ME1-EM3, ME1-EM20, ME1-EM22 and ME2-EM4) produced unique fragments specific to each species. These markers can be useful in easy and rapid identification of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess steady, two-dimensional natural convection flow of a viscoelastic, incompressible, electrically conducting and optically thick heat-radiating nanofluid over a linearly stretching sheet in the presence of uniform transverse magnetic field taking Dufour and Soret effects into account.Design/methodology/approach The governing boundary layer equations are transformed into a set of highly non-linear ordinary differential equations using suitable similarity transforms. Finite element method is used to solve this boundary value problem. Effects of pertinent flow parameters on the velocity, temperature, solutal concentration and nanoparticle concentration are described graphically. Also, effects of pertinent flow parameters on the shear stress, rate of heat transfer, rate of solutal concentration and rate of nanoparticle concentration at the sheet are discussed with the help of numerical values presented in graphical form. All numerical results for mono-diffusive nanofluid are compared with those of double-diffusive nanofluid.Findings Numerical results obtained in this paper are compared with earlier published results and are found to be in excellent agreement. Viscoelasticity, magnetic field and nanoparticle buoyancy parameter tend to enhance the wall velocity gradient, whereas thermal buoyancy force has a reverse effect on it. Radiation, Brownian and thermophoretic diffusions tend to reduce wall temperature gradient, whereas viscoelasticity has a reverse effect on it. Nanofluid Lewis number tends to enhance wall nanoparticle concentration gradient.Originality/value Study of this problem may find applications in engineering and biomedical sciences,e.g. in cooling and process industries and in cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]