Archives-December 

Plants have been an important source of medicine for thousands of years. Recently, the world health organization estimated that upto 80% of people still rely mainly on traditional remedies such as herbs for their medicines. In the present study various plant parts of Tridax procumbens were evaluated separately for the presence of primary metabolites. Tridax procumbens Linn belongs to family Asteraceae, and commonly known as Dhaman grass, is a common herb. It is employed as an indigenous medicine for variety of ailments including Jaundice. The plant also has hepatoprotective activity and it is used in Ayurveda in various liver disorders. Phytochemical screening and quantification of primary metabolites in different plant parts i.e leaf and stem (in vivo) as well as its callus (in vitro) quantification revealed the presence of total soluble sugars, proteins, lipids chlorophyll and proline. It showed higher concentration of total soluble sugar, lipid and protein in leaves whereas chlorophyll content and proline was found higher in callus as compared to other parts of plant.

We are very happy to announce that from 4th July 2016, Prof. (Dr.) Bipin J. Agrawal has joined the team of Elixir Editorial Advisory Board. He/She will carry a special responsibility for dealing with manuscripts based on Textile Chemistry. Prof. (Dr.) Bipin J. Agrawal working as Associate Professor, Department of Textile Chemistry, Faculty of Technology & Engineering, The M. S. University of Baroda, Vadodara 390 001 (Gujarat), India. The appointment of Prof. (Dr.) Bipin J. Agrawal as member Editorial Advisory Board strengthens the links and will make it easier for prospective authors to establish contact with the journal. Please send any expressions of interest to elixirpublishers@gmail.com.

We are very happy to announce that from 6th May 2016, Prof.Siddesh Kashinath Pai has joined the team of Elixir Editorial Advisory Board. He/She will carry a special responsibility for dealing with manuscripts based on Management. Prof.Siddesh Kashinath Pai working as Assistant Professor, National Institute of Construction management and research (NICMAR), India. The appointment of Prof.Siddesh Kashinath Pai as member Editorial Advisory Board strengthens the links and will make it easier for prospective authors to establish contact with the journal. Please send any expressions of interest to elixirpublishers@gmail.com.

Drug delivery is a multidisciplinary field. Researchers recently developed a drug-delivery system to mitigate some problems associated with jet-injection drug delivery, and also improved on the design and operation of microscale actuators as a possible drug-delivery methodThe Parenteral administration route is the most common and efficient for delivery of active drug substances with poor bio-availability and the drugs with a narrow therapeutic index. But parenteral route offers rapid onset of action with rapid declines of systemic drug level. For the sake of effective treatment it is often desirable to maintain systemic drug levels within the therapeutically effective concentration range for as long as treatment calls for.Parenteral drug delivery systems are the preparations that are given other than oral route. (Para-outside, enteric–intestine). Parenteral drug delivery systems are most preferred drug delivery systems as they meet many benefits over other dosage forms in many cases such as unconsciousness, nausea, in emergency clinical episodes. The Parenteral administration route is the most common and efficient for delivery of active drug substances with poor bio-availability and the drugs with a narrow therapeutic index. But Parenteral route offers rapid onset of action with rapid declines of systemic drug level. For the sake of effective treatment it is often desirable to maintain systemic drug levels within the therapeutically effective concentration range for as long as treatment calls for. It requires frequent injection, which ultimately leads to patient discomfort. For this reason, drug delivery system which can reduce total number of injection throughout the effective treatment, improve patient compliance as well as pharmacoeconomic.

In this study energy use pattern for sugar beet production in Hamadan province of Iran was studied and the degrees of technical and scale efficiency of producers were analyzed using DEA technique. The results revealed that of the average pure technical, technical and scale efficiencies of farmers were 0.83, 0.63 and 0.74, respectively. The results also suggested that, on average, a potential 45.73% (19609 MJ ha-1) reduction in total energy input could be achieved provided that all farmers operated efficiently. Generally, it can be said the DEA approach was appropriate methods for energy optimization in sugar beet production.

4-Oxothiazolidines(1a-o) have been synthesized by cyclisation of various Schiff bases with thiolactic acid. The schiff bases are obtained by the condensation reaction of 4-methyl cinnamoyl hydrazine with different benzaldehydes. The synthesized compounds are identified on the basis of spectral and elemental analysis. All the products have been evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial activity against various strains of bacteria.

This study examines the effect of advertising on Iranian audience using the total sample of 274 Iranian male and female. The study used the t-test model to determine the significant differences between Iranian male and female attitudes on different facets of advertising if any. As the researcher found that there is a statistically significant difference between the Iranian male and female in advertisements which create needs but do not fulfill them perfectly, this type of study would help the industry to realize the need of measuring the pulse of the general consumers from time to time and fulfill their needs. Knowledge of these in different segments of society will help the industry and advertising agencies in the development of creative strategy and media planning for targeting specific groups. At the same time, the practice of advertising should be improved and its credibility has to be enhanced among its recipients. This research has tried to demonstrate that there are some people who always think the positive consequence of advertising and at the same time there may be others who think negatively the consequences of advertising, Therefore, the long-term goal of the industry should be to improve its performance over time.

This study attempted to discover whether practicing on cloze tasks could improve Iranian undergraduates' foreign language proficiency. Sixty two Iranian EFL students of Azad University in Rasht served as the EG and the CG of the study and performed on a TOEFL serving as the pre-test of the study. The statistical technique of t-test formula revealed the two groups were not statistically different in terms of their foreign language proficiency at the outset of the study. The EG received thirty cloze tasks of various types during the course. In order to learn whether this treatment was effective or to see whether there was any statistically significant difference in the EFL proficiency between EG and CG after the administration of treatment, the participants were all post-tested on another TOEFL. The statistical technique of t-test formula revealed the EG, which had been equal to the CG before receiving the treatment, came to differ from it after it received the treatment; results showed that regular practice with cloze tasks was a very effective means of improving Iranian EFL proficiency. Therefore, the null hypothesis: There is no relationship between practicing on cloze tasks and improving Iranian EFL proficiency, was rejected.

The main objective of this study is to find out if Organizational characteristics intervene in the relationship between CRM and organizational performance in the Nigerian insurance industry. Relevant literature was reviewed and a model consisting of fourteen variables was conceptualized and tested by means of empirical data collected through a questionnaire survey. A total of one hundred and eighty (180) copies of questionnaires were administered, one hundred and forty nine (149) copies were duly completed and returned. This represents a response rate of 82.78%. Partial correlation was used to test the hypothesis. Findings show that there is a positive relationship between customer focused and customer satisfaction in the Nigerian insurance industry. Findings also show that Organizational characteristics intervene in the relationship between CRM and organizational performance in the Nigerian insurance industry. The study also shows that the strength of the intervention of companies’ image is stronger than that of branch network. The study recommended that insurance companies should pay more attention to their companies’ image and pay less attention to proliferation of branches.

The purpose of this study was to find out the role that employee training and development plays on employee performance in commercial banks in Kisumu town. The research was carried out using the descriptive survey design. The population of the study were both the management and other members of staff of the 22 banks in Kisumu City who were 400 from which a sample size of 200 respondents was selected. Data was collected using questionnaires and structured interviews. The study data that was analyzed quantitatively using the SPSS Package. The presentation of data was done using tables and charts. The study established that training and development leads to the increased performance by the employee. The study findings revealed that it makes an employee more efficient in performing tasks/duties. It leads to increased task performance speed and it increases employee proficiency in handling and solving issues. It increases the capacity of an employee to offer better services reduces work related errors by employees, it enhances the employees’ willingness to help customers and provide prompt services and positive attitude while serving and performing tasks. The study therefore recommends that training and development be managed properly for it to yield better effect on employee productivity.