Policy of foreign direct investment liberalisation in India: implications for retail sector

This study has analysed the impact of liberalisation of Indian economy and FDI policy on the retail sector since its implementation in the 1990s. It also further analyses sub-categories by investigating its impact on the unorganised retail sector and the flow of FDI in single-brand retail and multi-brand retail sectors. A comprehensive and critical review of the existing evidence on the subject was carried out, and descriptive statistical analysis of data from 1991 to 2013 was performed which leads to conclude that the policy of FDI liberalisation has proved to provide diversification and sustainable development to the Indian economy and specifically retail sector which is considered to be one of the significant pillars of economy. Furthermore, for continuous growth of the economy, it seems vital to encourage more investment in other sectors by liberalising the restrictive policies

Urinary tract infections and reduced risk of bladder cancer in Los Angeles

We investigated the association between urinary tract infections (UTIs) and transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder in a population-based case–control study in Los Angeles covering 1586 cases and age-, gender-, and race-matched neighbourhood controls. A history of bladder infection was associated with a reduced risk of bladder cancer among women (odds ratio (OR), 0.66; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.46–0.96). No effect was found in men, perhaps due to power limitations. A greater reduction in bladder cancer risk was observed among women with multiple infections (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.18–0.78). Exclusion of subjects with a history of diabetes, kidney or bladder stones did not change the inverse association. A history of kidney infections was not associated with bladder cancer risk, but there was a weak association between a history of other UTIs and slightly increased risk among men. Our results suggest that a history of bladder infection is associated with a reduced risk of bladder cancer among women. Cytotoxicity from antibiotics commonly used to treat bladder infections is proposed as one possible explanation

In situ guided tissue regeneration in musculoskeletal diseases and aging: Implementing pathology into tailored tissue engineering strategies

In situ guided tissue regeneration, also addressed as in situ tissue engineering or endogenous regeneration, has a great potential for population-wide “minimal invasive” applications. During the last two decades, tissue engineering has been developed with remarkable in vitro and preclinical success but still the number of applications in clinical routine is extremely small. Moreover, the vision of population-wide applications of ex vivo tissue engineered constructs based on cells, growth and differentiation factors and scaffolds, must probably be deemed unrealistic for economic and regulation-related issues. Hence, the progress made in this respect will be mostly applicable to a fraction of post-traumatic or post-surgery situations such as big tissue defects due to tumor manifestation. Minimally invasive procedures would probably qualify for a broader application and ideally would only require off the shelf standardized products without cells. Such products should mimic the microenvironment of regenerating tissues and make use of the endogenous tissue regeneration capacities. Functionally, the chemotaxis of regenerative cells, their amplification as a transient amplifying pool and their concerted differentiation and remodeling should be addressed. This is especially important because the main target populations for such applications are the elderly and diseased. The quality of regenerative cells is impaired in such organisms and high levels of inhibitors also interfere with regeneration and healing. In metabolic bone diseases like osteoporosis, it is already known that antagonists for inhibitors such as activin and sclerostin enhance bone formation. Implementing such strategies into applications for in situ guided tissue regeneration should greatly enhance the efficacy of tailored procedures in the future

The great screen anomaly—a new frontier in product discovery through functional metagenomics

Functional metagenomics, the study of the collective genome of a microbial community by expressing it in a foreign host, is an emerging field in biotechnology. Over the past years, the possibility of novel product discovery through metagenomics has developed rapidly. Thus, metagenomics has been heralded as a promising mining strategy of resources for the biotechnological and pharmaceutical industry. However, in spite of innovative work in the field of functional genomics in recent years, yields from function-based metagenomics studies still fall short of producing significant amounts of new products that are valuable for biotechnological processes. Thus, a new set of strategies is required with respect to fostering gene expression in comparison to the traditional work. These new strategies should address a major issue, that is, how to successfully express a set of unknown genes of unknown origin in a foreign host in high throughput. This article is an opinionating review of functional metagenomic screening of natural microbial communities, with a focus on the optimization of new product discovery. It first summarizes current major bottlenecks in functional metagenomics and then provides an overview of the general metagenomic assessment strategies, with a focus on the challenges that are met in the screening for, and selection of, target genes in metagenomic libraries. To identify possible screening limitations, strategies to achieve optimal gene expression are reviewed, examining the molecular events all the way from the transcription level through to the secretion of the target gene product

Antibacterial effect of calcium hydroxide combined with chlorhexidine on Enterococcus faecalis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) is the most frequently isolated strain in failed endodontic therapy cases since it is resistant to calcium hydroxide (CH). Whether a combination of CH and chlorhexidine (CHX) is more effective than CH alone against E. faecalis is a matter of controversy. Thus, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature. Material and Methods: A comprehensive search in PubMed, EMbase, EBSCOhost, The Cochrane Library, SciELO, and BBO databases, Clinical trials registers, Open Grey, and conference proceedings from the earliest available date to February 1, 2013 was carried out and the relevant articles were identified by two independent reviewers. Backward and forward search was performed and then inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. The included studies were divided into "comparisons" according to the depth of sampling and dressing period of each medicament. Meta-analysis was performed using Stata software 10.0. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Eighty-five studies were retrieved from databases and backward/forward searches. Fortyfive studies were considered as relevant (5 in vivo, 18 in vitro, 18 ex vivo, and 4 review articles). Nine studies were included for meta-analysis. Inter-observer agreement (Cohen kappa) was 0.93. The included studies were divided into 21 comparisons for meta-analysis. Chi-square test showed the comparisons were heterogeneous (p<0.001). Random effect model demonstrated no significant difference between CH/CHX mixture and CH alone in their effect on E. faecalis (p=0.115). Conclusions: According to the evidence available now, mixing CH with CHX does not significantly increase the antimicrobial activity of CH against E. faecalis. It appears that mixing CH with CHX does not improve its ex vivo antibacterial property as an intracanal medicament against E. faecalis. Further in vivo studies are necessary to confirm and correlate the findings of this study with the clinical outcomes

What makes people hesitant from circularity: An analysis of risk, marketing mix, cost and inconvenience

The circular economy (CE) concept has attracted significant research and practical momentum. Nevertheless, knowledge about its relationships to consumption and disposal from consumers' standpoint is still fragmented. Most CE consumer-centric research ends with a consumer's intention to purchase. As a result, this study intends to fill several research gaps by presenting a framework that goes beyond purchase intention and, consequently, incorporates both actual purchase behaviour and circular disposal, as well as their predictors. We gathered survey data from 489 Indian consumers and the proposed research claims were tested by adopting a structural equation modelling approach. The findings demonstrate that pricing advantage and product quality negatively impact perceived risk and positively impact perceived value. The main results confirm that the perception towards marketing mix plays a significant role in generating positive purchase intention. Furthermore, the indirect influence of the perception towards marketing mix on actual purchase behaviour is stronger than the direct influence. Both actual purchase behaviour and disposal convenience positively impact circular disposal behaviour. Meanwhile, the higher disposal costs discourage customers from circular disposal. This research has important implications for researchers and managers seeking to understand how to foster the circularity rate among consumers

86 Ultrasonographic evaluation of preovulatory follicle and endometrial echo texture for ovulation prediction in Marwari mares

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the application of ultrasonographic changes in the preovulatory follicle and uterus for ovulation prediction in Marwari mares. Mares (n=20) were teased daily by a teaser pony and, from the day of first detected oestrus, the ovaries and uterus were examined by transrectal ultrasonography using Exago ECM ultrasound equipped with linear rectal probe (10MHz) until ovulation. Recorded data were analysed by one-way ANOVA and correlation coefficients. The duration of the oestrus period ranged from 5 to 7 days in all mares, with an average of 6.35±0.13 days, consistent with rectal findings. The last day of oestrus was marked by disappearance of the preovulatory follicle and presence of a corpus haemorrhagicum. The mean diameter of the follicles increased significantly (P&amp;lt;0.01) from Day 1 to Day 7, and the diameter of follicles before ovulation was 44.88±0.46 mm; follicles changed from round to oval or irregular before ovulation. In 65% (13/20) of the mares, ovulation occurred on the left ovary. The daily mean growth rate of size of ovulating follicles from the first day of oestrus until ovulation was 3.51±0.42 mm/d. The mean average growth rate of follicles was significantly different (P ≤ 0.01) on different days of oestrus. The mean endometrial echo texture score was 1.30±0.10 on Day 1, 2.10±0.16 on Day 2, 3.20±0.15 on Day 3, and highest 3.85±0.08 on Day 4, declining thereafter to reach a score of 1.36±0.11 on Day 7 of the oestrous cycle. The mean slope values of pixel intensity for the granulosa and anechoic layers of the preovulatory follicles determined by Image-Pro software (Media Cybernetics) from Days −3 to −1 was 13.8±0.7 on Day −3, 15.7±0.9 on Day −2, and 20.1±1.3 on Day −1. None of the follicles ovulated before granulosa layer echogenicity reached a score of ≥2.5 and prominence of anechoic layer reached a score of ≥2. Significant positive correlations were found between the cross-sectional diameter of the uterine horn and estrual endometrial echotexture score (P&amp;lt;0.01; r=0.95), estrual endometrial echo texture score and preovulatory follicle diameter (P&amp;lt;0.01; r=0.25), and preovulatory follicle diameter and cross-sectional diameter of uterine horn (P&amp;lt;0.01; r=0.36) during the oestrous cycle. We conclude that various ultrasonographic characteristics of preovulatory follicle and uterus can be used to predict ovulation in Marwari mares. </jats:p