Corporate Governance Practices Leads to Value Enhancement of Stakeholders of Listed Companies in Tamil Nadu

The study has made an attempt on the Corporate Governance practices of listed companies in the respective study area. It mainly focuses on the CG and rests upon four pillars, viz., Transparency, Full disclosure, Independent monitoring and being fair to all, especially to minority shareholders. Corporate Governance refers to myriad mechanisms that shape the structure of incentives, disincentives, and prohibitions, under which an issuer's management makes decisions. In a modern corporation operating in a globalised world, concepts of disclosure and corporate governance are intertwined. Disclosure mechanism can be associated with the broader view of corporate governance that is not just restricted to shareholders, but also the aggregate of institutional and organizational factors that influence large decisions of public companies because public companies generates capital from various constituents. Corporate governance is an area that secures how efficiently manages corporations by the use of incentive mechanism, such as contracts, organizations and legislations. Transparency, corporate fairness and accountability are the important pillars of corporate governance. It is known for formally establishing guidelines regarding how a company is going to function. Enhanced and revised corporate governance policies are required in order to reduce the effect of financial crisis. International investors also invest in companies who follow good governance principles. From the international point of view they are the basic building blocks of the market. The researcher has used both Primary data and Secondary data methods of data collection. Simple random sampling method has been adopted for the study. The statistical tools like percentage analysis, chi-Square test, ANOVA and t-Test has been used for the study. The study highlights that 60 per cent of the companies are organizing programmes/talks/training for Independent Directors in matters relating to Corporate Governance. It is found that 100 per cent of the listed companies i.e. all the listed companies have disclosed to the shareholders in the annual report in relation to financial calendar. The basis of non-mandatory provisions and suggested items are to be included in the corporate governance. It can be concluded that listed companies are following only forced regulation and are not showing much interest in the voluntary compliance of rules and regulations.

A Pre-Operatively Diagnosed Abdominal Cocoon.

Abdominal Cocoon or idiopathic encapsulating peritonitis is a rare cause of intestinal obstruction. It more commonly occurs in young adolescent girls and the diagnosis is usually made at laparotomy. Recent case reports suggest that it is not uncommon in males and pre-operative diagnosis is possible by radiological investigations. We present a case of abdominal cocoon in an adult male, pre-operatively diagnosed by ultrasound and computerized tomography.

Standard guidelines for setting up a dermatosurgery theatre.

Introduction, definition, rationale and scope: Dermatologists in India are now increasingly performing surgical and cosmetic procedures in their practice. This calls for minimum standards at the national level with the main focus of patient safety and hence the guidelines for setting up a dermatosurgical theatre. Facility: The dermatosurgery theatre can be created in either physician's clinic, or a hospital depending on the procedure to be performed. The dermatosurgery theatre requires careful planning with regards to - location, dimension, shell design, lighting, electrical requirements, operation table, chair, trolley, surgical instruments, sterilization of devices, asepsis and advanced life support. Apart from physical considerations, other considerations including theatre etiquettes, consent for surgery, safety of dermatosurgeon, theatre staff and lastly biomedical waste management should be looked into. These issues are discussed in detail in the recommendations.

Evaluation of target concentration intervention strategy of gentamicin therapy in a malnourished patient population of south India.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Aminoglycoside antibiotics, especially gentamicin, are widely used in suspected Gram-negative infections in India. Therapeutic drug monitoring is not commonly used for this drug in our population. We evaluated the target concentration intervention (TCI) strategy of gentamicin therapy in a predominantly malnourished patient population with lower respiratory tract infection in south India. METHODS: Patients who were prescribed gentamicin for suspected lower respiratory tract infection were randomized to any of the three groups, viz., control (CG), once daily dosing (ODD), and pharmacokinetic dosing (TCI) groups. Diagnosis was initially done by clinical evaluation and confirmed radiologically. Patients in CG received 80 mg gentamycin twice daily, ODD group received 160 mg once daily, and TCI groups received 160 mg once daily initially followed by dose revision based on serum drug levels. Blood samples were collected at peak and trough levels and assayed for gentamicin concentration. Dose adjustment was done in TCI group whereas the other groups received standard doses. Efficacy and safety were evaluated as outcome measures. RESULTS: Of the 52 patients included initially in the study, 43 (CG 20, ODD 12, TCI 11) completed the study. The doses administered to the study subjects were less than those prescribed in standard textbooks and guidelines. Patients in TCI group had their gentamicin doses revised upwardly to a dose of 4.3+/-0.6 mg/kg to achieve a peak gentamicin concentration of 12 to 15 microg/ml. Both ODD and TCI groups showed significant improvements in outcomes studied over the control group. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The results of our study indicated that once daily dosing of gentamycin was superior to multiple daily dosing in treating the lower respiratory tract infection in the study population. All patients in the ODD and TCI groups achieved satisfactory serum drug concentrations at administered doses (160 mg/day for ODD and <or= 200 mg/day for TCI group). In our study, target concentration intervention did not significantly improve the therapy outcomes. Since the study sample is small further research may be needed.

Comparison of target concentration intervention strategy with conventional dosing of digoxin.

Digoxin is a widely used drug in patients with congestive heart failure. The present study compared the quality of life of congestive heart failure patients on one year follow-up period with two different dosing of digoxin (5/7 therapy and 7/7 therapy in whom the target serum digoxin concentration is maintained). Quality of life significantly improved in intervention group thus emphasizing the need for continuous dosing of digoxin based on target concentration.

Malignant atrophic papulosis. Report of a case with multiple ophthalmic findings.

Malignant atrophic papulosis is a rare and fatal condition with multiple organ involvement. We describe a patient with progressive ocular and dermatological findings.

Screening of Indian plants for biological activity: Part XVI.

Alcoholic extracts of 288 of plant materials from 199 plant species have been tested for various biological activities including chemotherapeutic and pharmacological screening. Biological activities, ranging from moderate to good degree, have been observed in 61 plants extracts. Follow up studies have been carried out in these extracts and some of them have shown moderate degree of activities at this Institute. However, none of the extracts was found to be good enough for further development. Results of the present studies, along with chemical investigations on different species of similar genera which were screened earlier, are also discussed.

A survey of some Indian medicinal plants for anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) activity.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: India has an extensive area of forest enriched with plant diversity. Several of these plants have been used as folklore medicines. However, the medicinal plants have rarely been investigated for anti-human immunodeficiency virus activity. Hence, some Indian medicinal plants were screened in vitro against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). METHODS: The inhibitory effect of plant extracts on HIV replication was monitored in terms of inhibition of virus induced cytopathogenicity in MT-4 cells. The MT-4 cells were infected with HIV. The HIV infected or mock infected MT-4 cells were incubated at 37 degrees C in a CO2 incubator in the presence of the plant extracts. After five days, cell viability was measured by tetrazolium based colorimetric assay. RESULTS & INTERPRETATION: Of the 69 plant species screened, 16 were effective against HIV-1 and 4 were against both HIV-1 and HIV-2. The most effective extracts against HIV-1 and HIV-2 are respectively Cinnamomum cassia (bark) and Cardiospermum helicacabum (shoot + fruit). The findings provide a rationale for further studies on isolation of active principles and pharmacological evaluation.

Evaluation and selection of living related kidney donors--our experience in a government hospital.

In a state-funded, live related-donor kidney transplantation programme, 616 eligible end stage renal failure (ESRF) patients were seen over a four-year period. 73% of them had potential related donors, 64% of whom were willing to donate. Fear of surgery, non-congenial pre-morbid relationships and discouragement by family members were the most common reasons for unwillingness to donate. After investigations, 76% of the willing donors were found to be fit. ABO incompatibility, lymphocyte cross-match positivity and anatomic abnormalities were the most common grounds for non-acceptance. Sixty eight percent of the willing, fit donors finally donated their kidneys, patient-death and donor-recipient withdrawal before surgery accounting for the remaining. One hundred and forty eight patients underwent renal transplantation. Two-thirds of the donors were females, mothers (37%) forming the single largest group. Eight five percent of the recipients were males. Overall, only 35% of the eligible ESRF patients had related, willing and fit donors attesting to the need for an active, cadaver-donor transplantation programme.

Oxidative stress in rat liver and lung induced by furanoterpenoids isolated from Fusarium solani infected sweet potatoes.

A crude extract containing some toxic furanoterpenoids was isolated from F. solani infected sweet potatoes. Chronic administration of the crude extract to male albino rats at a dosage of 1 mg/kg body weight/day for 21 days brought about a sharp increase in the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and a depression of glutathione levels in the lung and liver homogenates. The antioxidant defense system was affected as evident from a significant fall in the activities of the enzymes, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and glutathione-S-transferase. Such an alteration could be the reason for the lung and liver damage caused by these toxic furanoterpenoids.

Structural stability of beta-globulin, the low molecular weight protein fraction from sesame seed (Sesamum indicum L.) in alkaline solution.

Beta-globulin, a single polypeptide chain of molecular weight 15,000 +/- 1,000, undergoes denaturation in alkaline pH (7.0-13.0), thereby affecting the hydrodynamic properties of the protein, viz. a decrease in sedimentation coefficient from a value of 2.0s to 1.4s at pH 11.3, an increase in reduced viscosity from 0.042 dl/g to 0.158 dl/g at pH 12.6 and a decrease in partial specific volume resulting in a volume change of 6.3 +/- 1.0 ml/mole residue at pH 11.7. The perturbation of tryptophanyl residues and ionization of tyrosyl residues are preceded by alteration in conformational status of the protein. The fluorescence emission measurements indicate initial unfolding of the protein molecule which exposes the tryptophan and tyrosyl residues to the solvent. The tyrosyl phenolic group ionization is anomalous having a pKint value of 11.2. The reduced viscosity value reaches a plateau region at pH 12.5.

Deafness in children--an analysis.

This study was conducted at the Government Deaf and Dumb School, Thanjavur to ascertain the possible etiological factors. The social outlook of the parents of these children was analysed. Boys were more often affected (60.2%). Consanguinity was observed in 65.4% parents; 23.1% had one or more affected sibling and 14.1% had affected relatives. Parents detected the hearing disability in their children between 3-6 months of age in about 79% cases. Syphilis and chickenpox were the common antenatal associated infections. Streptomycin, chloroquine and abortificients were used during early pregnancy. Eight were preterm and 9 were asphyxiated at birth. A total of 11.5% had purulent ear discharge, and 2 had ear injury. Parents were committed to help the children to be self dependent.

Effect of pH in the acidic region on the structural integrity of lipase from wheat germ.

To understand the structure-function relationship of the enzyme lipase the effect of acid pH on the activity of lipase has been followed using a number of physico-chemical techniques. Lipase from wheat/germ has S20,w value of 2.2 S and a molecular weight of 42,000 +/- 1,000. The enzyme has an intrinsic viscosity of 4.72 ml/g indicating it to be elongated in shape. With decrease in pH below 7.0 microenvironmental changes occur in the neighborhood of active site accompanied by minor conformational changes without any gross change in the hydrodynamic properties of the protein, as monitored with ultraviolet difference spectra, fluorescence spectra, viscosity and circular dichroism. The kinetics of the inactivation process has been established as consisting of a fast step and a slow step with a k value of 73/sec and 7.2/sec respectively. At extreme acid pH the enzyme reaggregates to a polymer arising out of hydrophobic interaction and the polymer has no activity.