Effect of lithium on acetylcholine esterase activity, and isozyme pattern in developing chick brain

Acetylcholine Esterase is an enzyme, which hydrolyses acetylcholine and is used as a marker for cholinergic neural function. It is known to be involved in synaptogenesis. While on one hand it is known to be a marker for the developing chick brain it is also implicated in neurodegenerative diseases. In vertebrates the protein is synthesized by a single gene and undergoes alternative splicing to give 6-8 isoforms. Isozyme patterns of acetylcholine esterase have been suggested to be useful prognostic markers of neuronal degeneration. Lithium a well-known teratogen is known to induce apoptosis in the developing chick brain. Understanding the dynamics of acetylcholine esterase isoform pattern in lithium induced neural tissue damage would help elucidating the role of these isoforms in frank neurodegenerative diseases. We have therefore studied activity and isozyme pattern of acetylcholine esterase in lithium treated and control 7 day old developing chick brain and report the same

Can organisation development principles in India's local governments improve governance?

This paper examines the application of organisation development principles to rural local self-government bodies in Karnataka, India with the objective of developing their organisational capacity and improving their efficiency. The premise is that strong gram panchayats (village councils) can address issues hindering service delivery and governance at the grass roots.The paper illustrates the methodology used in the development of an innovative framework called Gram Panchayat Organisation Development (GPOD) and its implementation in action research mode in two village councils since 2011. It further explores the wider applicability of this framework, which has been extended to over 50 gram panchayats (GPs) since 2014. GPOD works towards strengthening the panchayat as an organisation in its entirety, rather than by tackling stand-alone components. It includes building a shared vision in the panchayat, mapping and re-engineering key processes, developing accountability and incentive structures, and supporting the village body in developing and implementing its annual plans. The approach has evolved to its present form based on real-time change management initiatives in GPs in which politically elected members participated in decision-making and implementation. We argue that by following the principles of organisation development and aligning the panchayat’s organisational components, marked improvements in local governance and service delivery were achieved. Impact is captured in terms of systemic outputs such as annual plans, accountability structures and activation of defunct committees, as well as improvements in services such as health, sanitation, drinking water, etc. The paper also includes a critique of the challenges faced as GPOD was scaled up to include new areas

Book review: Beyond tears and laughter: gender, migration, and the service sector in China by Yang Shen

In Beyond Tears and Laughter: Gender, Migration, and the Service Sector in China, Yang Shen examines the life experiences of men and women who have migrated from rural China to Shanghai to make a living in the restaurant service sector, exploring how gender, class and hukou shape these experiences. Attending to the motivations, aspirations and desires of economic and social lives that are constantly being reshaped and drawing connections between work, intimate relationships, agency and subjectivity, this book is an excellent read for understanding gender and labour in contemporary China, finds Kanak Rajadhyaksha. Beyond Tears and Laughter: Gender, Migration, and the Service Sector in China. Yang Shen. Palgrave Macmillan. 2019

Genocide on the Airwaves: An Analysis of the International Law Concerning Radio Jamming

Using the Rwandan genocide as an example, this article makes a case for allowing the jamming of radios that are broadcasting hate speech in situations in which such hate speech would incite genocide. To this end, it discusses the law relating to freedom of speech and communication in international law and its relative position when applied to genocide. Further, it analyzes the traditional notions of state sovereignty to make a case for humanitarian intervention by radio jamming. Finally, it recommends the establishment of a body under the aegis of the UN with the mandate and equipment to jam incendiary broadcasts in situations that are gravitating toward genocide

Graph Contrastive Learning for Multi-omics Data

Advancements in technologies related to working with omics data require novel computation methods to fully leverage information and help develop a better understanding of human diseases. This paper studies the effects of introducing graph contrastive learning to help leverage graph structure and information to produce better representations for downstream classification tasks for multi-omics datasets. We present a learnining framework named Multi-Omics Graph Contrastive Learner(MOGCL) which outperforms several aproaches for integrating multi-omics data for supervised learning tasks. We show that pre-training graph models with a contrastive methodology along with fine-tuning it in a supervised manner is an efficient strategy for multi-omics data classification

"The fruits of independence": Satyajit Ray, Indian nationhood and the spectre of empire

Challenging the longstanding consensus that Satyajit Ray's work is largely free of ideological concerns and notable only for its humanistic richness, this article shows with reference to representations of British colonialism and Indian nationhood that Ray's films and stories are marked deeply and consistently by a distinctively Bengali variety of liberalism. Drawn from an ongoing biographical project, it commences with an overview of the nationalist milieu in which Ray grew up and emphasizes the preoccupation with colonialism and nationalism that marked his earliest unfilmed scripts. It then shows with case studies of Kanchanjangha (1962), Charulata (1964), First Class Kamra (First-Class Compartment, 1981), Pratidwandi (The Adversary, 1970), Shatranj ke Khilari (The Chess Players, 1977), Agantuk (The Stranger, 1991) and Robertsoner Ruby (Robertson's Ruby, 1992) how Ray's mature work continued to combine a strongly anti-colonial viewpoint with a shifting perspective on Indian nationhood and an unequivocal commitment to cultural cosmopolitanism. Analysing how Ray articulated his ideological positions through the quintessentially liberal device of complexly staged debates that were apparently free, but in fact closed by the scenarist/director on ideologically specific notes, this article concludes that Ray's reputation as an all-forgiving, ‘everybody-has-his-reasons’ humanist is based on simplistic or even tendentious readings of his work

Serverless Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Reconnection via Proxy

While Bluetooth low energy (BLE) advertising is less power-intensive than scanning, emitting an always-on connectable advertisement consumes power. This disclosure describes techniques of power-efficient BLE advertising by using a proxy device to effect a seamless reconnection protocol between a central device and a peripheral device without user interaction. A companion device (e.g., a smartphone) paired with a peripheral (e.g., a smartwatch) acts as a BLE proxy. When a central device (e.g., a tablet) scans for the peripheral, the proxy advertises on behalf of the peripheral using encrypted certificates and identifiers. Such proxy advertising enables the central device to locate the proxy and to trigger the peripheral to begin BLE advertising when needed. Upon locating the peripheral through the proxy, the central device reconnects directly to the peripheral, establishing a secure, encrypted link. The techniques conserve the battery of the peripheral by shifting some BLE advertising to the proxy device, which usually has greater battery capacity

Immune Dysregulation in MDS: The Role of Cytokines and Immune Cells

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a hematopoietic stem cell disorder affecting individuals over the age of 60 years. It is characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis and extensive apoptosis of hematopoietic cells. MDS patients are at a high risk of transforming in to acute myeloid leukemia. The main cause of apoptosis and escape from immune surveillance in MDS is immune dysregulation caused by a number of factors such as aberrant cytokine production and influence of various immune cells. In the past decade various pro-inflammatory cytokines and a number of immune cells such as Natural Killer cells, regulatory T cells, cytotoxic T cells, mesenchymal stem cells, myeloid derived suppressor cells and dendritic cells have been implicated in immune dysregulation leading to MDS pathogenesis. In this review we focus on the current data available on the role of these immune factors

The soft power of popular cinema: the case of India

Among BRICS nations, India has the most developed and globalised film industry, and the Indian government as well as corporations are increasingly deploying the power of Bollywood in their international interactions. India’s soft power, arising from its cultural and civilizational influence outside its territorial boundaries, has a long history. Focusing on contemporary India’s thriving Hindi film industry, this article suggests that the globalisation of the country’s popular cinema, aided by a large diaspora, has created possibilities of promoting India’s public diplomacy. It examines the global imprint of this cinema as an instrument of soft power