Elitism, Escapism and Existentialism: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the Reading Habits of Indian Young Adults

Reading is the core of knowledge and educational success, but it demonstrates a decline among the current young adult population. The present study uses a qualitative approach in the form of semi-structured interviews to study the reading habits of 10 Indian young adults aged 19-24. Interpretative phenomenological analysis revealed three superordinate themes: attitudes towards reading, perceived benefits of reading, and impediments to reading. Findings are consistent with previous literature and can be applied in academic and professional settings and social structures to improve the reading habits of Indian young adults. Future researchers are encouraged to determine strategies for enhancing reading habits within the Indian context. Quantitative studies further investigating the topic are recommended

Mechanical harvesting in tea: A case study of Pasuparai estate

Tea cultivation is a highly labour intensive and more than 2.0 lakh people are directly or indirectly involved in south India. Normally, women workers are deployed to harvest the crop manually at an interval of 10-12 days. By the turn of the century, usage of hand held shears became inevitable to increase the labour productivity. An interval of 14-16 days is mandatory to obtain good quality and regular crop production when hand held shears are used. Employing more labour is not practically and economically viable and hence adoption of mechanical harvesting is the only option to achieve the sustainability of the crop. The case study deals with continuous mechanization over a period of 6 years and its impact on crop productivity besides the adoption of improved agronomic practices. Significant improvement in plucking average was recorded after the introduction of machines. Timely harvesting of the crop improved the quality parameters of made tea and reduced the cost of harvesting. Deliberate addition of a new tier of maintenance foliage was followed during January-March, every year after the machine harvesting. Furthermore, foliar application of micronutrients, plant growth regulators and potassium nitrate also given to minimize the ill effects of mechanization. Mechanization enabled to achieve sustained crop productivity, and the case study narrates the impact of mechanization and the importance of adopting good agronomic practices to sustain the productivity in south Indian tea plantations

Mechanical harvesting in tea: A case study of Pasuparai estate

Tea cultivation is a highly labour intensive and more than 2.0 lakh people are directly or indirectly involved in south India. Normally, women workers are deployed to harvest the crop manually at an interval of 10-12 days. By the turn of the century, usage of hand held shears became inevitable to increase the labour productivity. An interval of 14-16 days is mandatory to obtain good quality and regular crop production when hand held shears are used. Employing more labour is not practically and economically viable and hence adoption of mechanical harvesting is the only option to achieve the sustainability of the crop. The case study deals with continuous mechanization over a period of 6 years and its impact on crop productivity besides the adoption of improved agronomic practices. Significant improvement in plucking average was recorded after the introduction of machines. Timely harvesting of the crop improved the quality parameters of made tea and reduced the cost of harvesting. Deliberate addition of a new tier of maintenance foliage was followed during January-March, every year after the machine harvesting. Furthermore, foliar application of micronutrients, plant growth regulators and potassium nitrate also given to minimize the ill effects of mechanization. Mechanization enabled to achieve sustained crop productivity, and the case study narrates the impact of mechanization and the importance of adopting good agronomic practices to sustain the productivity in south Indian tea plantations

Multifunctionality of Calebin A in inflammation, chronic diseases and cancer

Chronic diseases including cancer have high case numbers as well as mortality rates. The efficient treatment of chronic diseases is a major ongoing medical challenge worldwide, because of their complexity and many inflammatory pathways such as JNK, p38/MAPK, MEK/ERK, JAK/STAT3, PI3K and NF-κB among others being implicated in their pathogenesis. Together with the versatility of chronic disease classical mono-target therapies are often insufficient. Therefore, the anti-inflammatory as well as anti-cancer capacities of polyphenols are currently investigated to complement and improve the effect of classical anti-inflammatory drugs, chemotherapeutic agents or to overcome drug resistance of cancer cells. Currently, research on Calebin A, a polyphenolic component of turmeric (Curcuma longa), is becoming of growing interest with regard to novel treatment strategies and has already been shown health-promoting as well as anti-tumor properties, including anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects, in diverse cancer cells. Within this review, we describe already known anti-inflammatory activities of Calebin A via modulation of NF-κB and its associated signaling pathways, linked with TNF-α, TNF-β and COX-2 and further summarize Calebin A’s tumor-inhibiting properties that are known up to date such as reduction of cancer cell viability, proliferation as well as metastasis. We also shed light on possible future prospects of Calebin A as an anti-cancer agent

Analysing Impact of Network Settings on the Feasible Operation Region of Urban and Rural Distribution Networks

The flexibility of the active distribution network (ADN) could be used to provide ancillary services to the transmission system operator. The feasible operation region (FOR) is a tool that aggregates the flexibility of the network by combining all interconnection power flows (IPFs) at TSO-DSO interface and could be used to validate flexibility offers that would not violate any network constraints. Several elements impact the size and shape of the FOR, such as network constraints, network settings and capability of the flexibility providing units (FPUs). The network settings consist of transformer tap positions and network reconfiguration. This paper, analyses how network settings can influence the size and shape of the FOR for the ADNs. Typical urban and rural distribution networks are used for case studies to analyse the impact of change in network setting to the FOR of the given network. Moreover, to aid network operators in decision-making, an algorithm has been devised to find out which network settings would result in the biggest and smallest FOR. As a result, the network settings can be ranked according to the size of the FOR obtained. This ranking can act as a decision tool to exploit the flexibility available in the ADNs. With this information on the network settings, the network operators can make informed decisions about the use of flexibility

Fluorescent In-Situ Hybridization is the Hand Mirror of Cytogenetics: A Rare Case of Near Tetraploidy in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Identification of specific chromosomal changes has important prognostic and biological implications in childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). ALL cases with 90 chromosomes are rare. Here, we report a case of near-tetraploidy in a 4 year old boy diagnosed with B-cell ALL, where the ploidy was identified by Fluorescent In- Situ Hybridization (FISH) and confirmed by Conventional Cytogenetics. Our aim was to enumerate multiple signals observed by FISH, and to confirm the same by cytogenetics. FISH on cytogenetically fixed air-dried slides was performed by using BCR/ABL and MLL probe .Two hundred cells were scored. BMA was cultured and G-banded metaphases were analyzed in accordance with ISCN 2013. The results of the FISH test showed more than two signals and cytogenetics revealed clones of near-tetraploidy with mn 90, karyotype: 90-92, 4nXXY,-Y,-10,-10,-13, +14, +17, along with normal clones. The tetraploidy condition compared to hyperdiploid ALL has a poorer prognosis and the rarity of these cases makes accounting on treatment decisions a supposition. Presently, the patient is on standard treatment for ALL (UK ALL regime A). The numerical abnormality detected by FISH was confirmed by cytogenetics, which facilitated in reporting the results of this case earlier than the defined turnaround time. Therefore author opines that FISH reports should also contain observed additional information along with positive or negative status of the requested test

Calebin A targets the HIF-1α/NF-κB pathway to suppress colorectal cancer cell migration

Background: Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is one of the major tumor-associated transcription factors modulating numerous tumor properties such as tumor cell metabolism, survival, proliferation, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Calebin A (CA), a compound derived from turmeric, is known for its anti-cancer activity through modulation of the NF-κB pathway. However, its impact on HIF-1α in colorectal cancer (CRC) cell migration is unknown.Methods: Human CRC cells (HCT-116) in 3D alginate and monolayer multicellular TME (fibroblasts/T lymphocytes) were subjected to CA or the HIF-1α inhibitor to explore the efficacy of CA on TME-induced inflammation, migration, and tumor malignancy.Results: CA significantly inhibited TME-promoted proliferation and migration of HCT-116 cells, similar to the HIF-1α inhibitor. Colony formation, toluidine blue staining, and immunolabeling showed that CA inhibited the migration of HCT-116 cells partly by inhibiting HIF-1α, which is critical for CRC cell viability, and these observations were confirmed by electron microscopy. In addition, Western blot analysis confirmed that CA inhibited TME-initiated expression of HIF-1α and biomarkers of metastatic factors (such as NF-κB, β1-integrin, and VEGF), and promoted apoptosis (caspase-3), in a manner comparable to the HIF-1α inhibitor. Finally, TME induced a purposeful pairing between HIF-1α and NF-κB, suggesting that the synergistic interplay between the two tumor-associated transcription factors is essential for CRC cell malignancy and migration and that CA silences these factors in tandem.Conclusion: These results shed light on a novel regulatory modulation of CA signaling in CRC cell migration, partially via HIF-1α/NF-κB with potentially relevant implications for cancer therapy

Gas phase synthesis of isopropyl chloride from isopropanol and HCl over alumina and flexible 3-D carbon foam supported catalysts

AbstractIsopropyl chloride synthesis from isopropanol and HCl in gas phase over ZnCl₂ catalysts supported on Al₂O₃ as well as flexible carbon foam was studied in a continuous reactor. A series of catalytic materials were synthesised and characterised by BET, XPS, SEM, TEM, XRD and NH₃-TPD methods. Catalytic activity tests (product selectivity and conversion of reactants) were performed for all materials and optimal reaction conditions (temperature and feedstock flow rates) were found. The results indicate that the highest yield of isopropyl chloride was obtained over 5 wt.% ZnCl₂ on commercial Al₂O₃ (No. II) (95.3%). Determination of product mixture compositions and by-product identification were done using a GC-MS method. Carbon foam variant catalyst, 5 wt.% ZnCl₂/C, was found to perform best out of the carbon-supported materials, achieving ∼75% yield of isopropyl chloride. The kinetic model describing the process in a continuous packed bed reactor was proposed and kinetic parameters were calculated. The activation energy for the formation of isopropyl chloride reaction directly from isopropanol and HCl was found to be ∼58 kJ/mol.Abstract Isopropyl chloride synthesis from isopropanol and HCl in gas phase over ZnCl₂ catalysts supported on Al₂O₃ as well as flexible carbon foam was studied in a continuous reactor. A series of catalytic materials were synthesised and characterised by BET, XPS, SEM, TEM, XRD and NH₃-TPD methods. Catalytic activity tests (product selectivity and conversion of reactants) were performed for all materials and optimal reaction conditions (temperature and feedstock flow rates) were found. The results indicate that the highest yield of isopropyl chloride was obtained over 5 wt.% ZnCl₂ on commercial Al₂O₃ (No. II) (95.3%). Determination of product mixture compositions and by-product identification were done using a GC-MS method. Carbon foam variant catalyst, 5 wt.% ZnCl₂/C, was found to perform best out of the carbon-supported materials, achieving ∼75% yield of isopropyl chloride. The kinetic model describing the process in a continuous packed bed reactor was proposed and kinetic parameters were calculated. The activation energy for the formation of isopropyl chloride reaction directly from isopropanol and HCl was found to be ∼58 kJ/mol

Targeting IκappaB kinases for cancer therapy

The inhibitory kappa B kinases (IKKs) and IKK related kinases are crucial regulators of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). The dysregulation in the activities of these kinases has been reported in several cancer types. These kinases are known to regulate survival, proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis of cancer cells. Thus, IKK and IKK related kinases have emerged as an attractive target for the development of cancer therapeutics. Several IKK inhibitors have been developed, few of which have advanced to the clinic. These inhibitors target IKK either directly or indirectly by modulating the activities of other signaling molecules. Some inhibitors suppress IKK activity by disrupting the protein-protein interaction in the IKK complex. The inhibition of IKK has also been shown to enhance the efficacy of conventional chemotherapeutic agents. Because IKK and NF-κB are the key components of innate immunity, suppressing IKK is associated with the risk of immune suppression. Furthermore, IKK inhibitors may hit other signaling molecules and thus may produce off-target effects. Recent studies suggest that multiple cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins distinct from NF-κB and inhibitory κB are also substrates of IKK. In this review, we discuss the utility of IKK inhibitors for cancer therapy. The limitations associated with the intervention of IKK are also discussed