Session - 6 December 19, 2007 Respiratory signal transduction mechanisms

In a prospective study of 47 patients of subclinical hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis of liver, aged between 23 and 60 years, 49% showed Helicobacter pylori positivity by rapid urease test. The baseline characters of patients (mean age, serum creatinine, sereum albumin, serum bilirubin, prothrombin time) were similar among patients with and without Helicobacter infection in all the patients. There was no statistically significant difference in blood ammonia levels in either group of patients. Blood ammonia values showed good correlation with the functional state of liver function but they did not show statistically significant difference between two groups of patients in any of Child Pugh classes. It is concluded that Helicobacter pylori does not contribute significantly to blood ammonia levels and the severity of hepatic encephalopathy.     

Critical decisions for ERP integration: Small business issues

Small enterprises are facing significant challenges to become suppliers of bigger customers due to the excessive costs associated with accessing a vast market of potential customers. It is essential for small businesses to adopt an ERP system to maintain control of their operations and to compete globally. An ERP implementation is expensive and risky for all businesses, but it is still more challenging for small businesses, which have particular characteristics. We identified from archived literature, key decisions necessary in selecting and implementing an ERP system. While these critical decisions are applicable to all types of businesses, the focus of this research was to recommend the best practices for each one of these key decisions for small businesses. We interviewed six small businesses to recommend best practices for the critical decisions: (1) project team structure, (2) implementation strategy, (3) database conversion strategy, (4) transition technique, (5) risk management strategy and (6) change management strategy. Our results indicate that these best practices greatly enhanced the success of an ERP implementation for small businesses. Further, we recommend studying the impact of ERP systems on the small business’ participation in supply chain management.     

Study of Serum Homocysteine, Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 in Patients with Preeclampsia

The present study was carried out to evaluate the occurrence of association between homocysteine, folic acid and vitamin B(12) in patients with preeclampsia. Fifty preeclamptic patients from gynecology ward were studied for estimation of serum homocysteine, folic acid and vitamin B(12) over a period of October 2007 to June 2010. Serum homocysteine and folic acid, and vitamin B(12) were determined by means of Immulite 1000 analyzer. The statistical analysis of study group of preeclampsia compared with normotensive control group, showed significant alterations in serum homocysteine, folic acid and vitamin B(12) concentrations in preeclampsia. Inverse association between serum homocysteine and folic acid, and vitamin B(12) levels were observed in preeclampsia. The present study found hyperhomocysteinemia and deficiency of folic acid and vitamin B(12) along with increased blood pressure as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in preeclampsia.