An integrated dataset on current adoption practices, readiness and willingness to use m-commerce amongst women fish vendors in Karnataka state, India.

The dataset describes the survey data on current adoption practices, readiness and willingness amongst woman fish vendors (WFVs) towards the adoption of m-commerce in Coastal Karnataka region, India. The coastal Karnataka belt houses three districts viz. Udupi, Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada. Primary data is retrieved from 383 WFVs who serve 26 markets in the districts mentioned above. The dataset comprises of demographic details of the respondents like age, education, per-day sales etc. and specific responses to the items measuring their current adoption practices, as well as readiness and willingness to use m-commerce in their day to day business activities. Availability of this data will help researchers, policy makers and social entrepreneurs to determine optimal strategies towards efficient adoption of m-commerce models amongst small vendors in similar emerging markets thereby increasing their income levels.

Design, analysis and performance evaluation of a hand gesture platform for navigation.

Prevailing technological solutions that address the problems that are experienced by the infirm and elderly people in terms of locomotion needs, offer limited options when it comes to control mechanism and customization. For more than a decade, joysticks have served the purpose of steering and navigation of autonomous wheelchairs. An alternative gesture-based method for navigation of wheelchairs by the physically impaired could very well replace the conventional joystick controls. A prototype system, 'Mudra' (Sanskrit word for gesture), incorporates a gesture capture module, developed for recognition and identification of hand gestures. Mudra is a no-nonsense user-friendly system that enables control of the navigational platform, merely by four gestures of the human hand. This paper presents a comprehensive report on the implementation of the Mudra system's hardware and software, performance analysis and safety evaluation. Verification tests of the conceptual design show promising results, where 97.8% of the hand gestures were recognized accurately. Furthermore, the response timings of wheelchairs with Mudra controls were noticeably faster than the joystick-based wheelchairs, as affirmed by live testing with wheelchair-users. Pursuant to the positive feedback from the wheelchair-user experience, we conclude that Mudra's gesture controlled wheelchairs would be a preferable alternative to joystick-controlled wheelchairs.

Prevalence of Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Colonization Among Children.

BACKGROUND: Invasive infections from community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) are increasingly being encountered in healthy children. Nasal colonization of MRSA is associated with increased risk for acquiring invasive disease. The objective of this study was to determine prevalence and risk factors for CA-MRSA nasal colonization among a healthy paediatric population and to determine antibiotic susceptibilities of S. aureus isolates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using a cross-sectional study design, children aged 1mnth-17y attending well-child clinic at an academic hospital and a local public school in Mangalore, India were screened for S. aureus colonization via nasal swabs. A questionnaire was administered and data on risk factors for nasal colonization was collected. Samples were obtained from the anterior nares and cultured quantitatively. S. aureus isolates were confirmed by growth on selective media and coagulase testing. Disk diffusion antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed according to Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute guidelines. RESULTS: Of the 500 children included in the study, S. aureus was isolated from the anterior nares in 126 (25%) children; four (3%) isolates were classified as CA-MRSA. Factors associated with S. aureus nasal colonization were children <6 y old (p=0.030) and members of joint families (p=0.044). Resistance to many classes of antibiotics were noted among S. aureus isolates including trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (39%), ciprofloxacin (16%), erythromycin (19%) and clindamycin (5%). Inducible clindamycin resistance (positive D test) was detected in 11 of the erythromycin-resistant strains not already classified as resistant to clindamycin. No resistance to vancomycin was observed. CONCLUSION: Children in India have a high rate of nasal colonization of S. aureus. Nasal colonization of community-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus exists but is still low among healthy children. The high rate of resistance to many classes of antibiotics among S. aureus strains is of great concern warranting continued surveillance and antimicrobial stewardship.

Solid self-microemulsifying formulation for candesartan cilexetil.

Sparingly, water-soluble drugs such as candesartan cilexetil offer challenges in developing a drug product with adequate bioavailability. The objective of the present study was to develop and characterize self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) of candesartan cilexetil for filling into hard gelatin capsules. Solubility of candesartan cilexetil was evaluated in various nonaqueous careers that included oils, surfactants, and cosurfactants. Pseudoternary phase diagrams were constructed to identify the self-microemulsification region. Four self-microemulsifying formulations were prepared using mixtures of oils, surfactants, and cosurfactants in various proportions. The self-microemulsification properties, droplet size, and zeta potential of these formulations were studied upon dilution with water. The optimized liquid SMEDDS formulation was converted into free flowing powder by adsorbing onto a solid carrier for encapsulation. The dissolution characteristics of solid intermediates of SMEDDS filled into hard gelatin capsules was investigated and compared with liquid formulation and commercial formulation to ascertain the impact on self-emulsifying properties following conversion. The results indicated that solid intermediates showed comparable rate and extent of drug dissolution in a discriminating dissolution medium as liquid SMEDDS indicating that the self-emulsifying properties of SMEDDS were unaffected following conversion. Also, the rate and extent of drug dissolution for solid intermediates was significantly higher than commercial tablet formulation. The results from this study demonstrate the potential use of SMEDDS as a means of improving solubility, dissolution, and concomitantly the bioavailability.

Production and in vitro characterization of solid dosage form incorporating drug nanoparticles.

The objective of this study was to develop a tablet formulation of ketoconazole incorporating drug nanoparticles to enhance saturation solubility and dissolution velocity for enhancing bioavailability and reducing variability in systemic exposure. The bioavailability of ketoconazole is dissolution limited following oral administration. To enhance bioavailability and overcome variability in systemic exposure, a nanoparticle formulation of ketoconazole was developed. Ketoconazole nanoparticles were prepared using a media-milling technique. The nanosuspension was layered onto water-soluble carriers using a fluid bed processor. The nanosuspensions were characterized for particle size before and after layering onto water-soluble carriers. The saturation solubility and dissolution characteristics were investigated and compared with commercial ketoconazole formulation to ascertain the impact of particle size on drug dissolution. The drug nanoparticles were evaluated for solid-state transitions before and after milling using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). This study demonstrated that tablet formulation incorporating ketoconazole nanoparticles showed significantly faster rate of drug dissolution in a discriminating dissolution medium as compared with commercially available tablet formulation. There was no affect on solid-state properties of ketoconazole following milling. The manufacturing process used is relatively simple and scalable indicating general applicability to enhance dissolution and bioavailability of many sparingly soluble compounds.