Public Expenditure Accountability of the Indian Railways

The Indian Railways (IR) is one of the chief logistics agents of the Government of India (GOI). Considering the significant GOI funding into IR, public expenditure accountability (PEA) becomes an issue of importance. This paper looks into different aspects of the expenditure and financial management of IR. The paper is divided into three portions. The first portion looks at the railway-government interface. The main areas of focus here include a brief examination of The Indian Railways Act, the financial interface between the GOI and IR (consisting of budgetary support, market sourced financing and dividend payments), evaluating the need for a separate railway budget, political interference in the activities of IR and the interaction of IR with state governments. The second portion of the paper deals with the internal financial management of IR. In this section, there is an effort to evaluate the revenue generation by IR along with suggestions for enhancing its potential. This is followed by a look at the issue of subsidies to IR. Investment decisions of IR and the Special Railway Safety Fund (SRSF) along with the issue of excess manpower and cost reduction are other topics included in this section. The paper ends with a roadmap to corporatisation as a possible solution to the problems IR is faced with. The main areas dealt with are financial issues, pensions, the need for customer focus, the importance of focus on core competencies and a need to revamp IRs administrative structure and attitude.

Public Expenditure Accounatability in the Telecom Sector

The telecom sector has seen much change during the past two decades. At first, it was the opening up of the equipment manufacturing sector, followed by the corporatisation of the government owned entities, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL). Subsequently, the sector was opened for private participation in basic, cellular and other value added services. The most recent liberalization moves have been the corporatization of the Department of Telecom into Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and the privatisation of VSNL.

Effect of Data Flow Architecture on Programming Language Design

This study is concerned with the aspects of data flow architecture. A survey of data flow processors is presented. The two broad classes of languages, procedural and applicative, are considered for the language design for the data flow architecture. Starting from the basic data flow program representation, the study extendends to the high level languages. Method for translating the conventional presented. language to data flow representation is Consideration is given to the conventional structured languages. A general discussion of usage of appli.cative language classes are presented, without considering specific syntax. The material presented can be extended to specific syntax design and its practical use can be studied from the given general discussions.Computing and Information Sciences

Astrocytic S100B, Blood-Brain Barrier and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Increased life span and expectations of a better quality of life have resulted in a spotlight on neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases generally associated with aging. The drive toward evidence-based medicine has necessitated a constant search for objective biomarkers to assay disease onset, progress, and outcomes to make the best clinical decisions. Enhancement of their use depends on the mechanistic understanding of the biomarker’s role in the disease process itself. This chapter focuses on S100B. It is a calcium sensor protein that is primarily astrocytic. While it plays a complex, interlinked role in signaling, serum levels of S100B as a biomarker for clinical decisions is also an area of intense investigation. Both aspects are presented, with an emphasis on the role of S100B in in maintaining a blood-brain barrier, especially in the context of suggesting a unified mechanism for the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases

Data on Final Calcium Concentration in Native Gel Reagents Determined Accurately Through Inductively Coupled Plasma Measurements

In this article we present data on the concentration of calcium as determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) measurements. Calcium was estimated in the reagents used for native gel electrophoresis of Neuronal Calcium Sensor (NCS) proteins. NCS proteins exhibit calcium-dependent mobility shift in native gels. The sensitivity of this shift to calcium necessitated a precise determination of calcium concentrations in all reagents used. We determined the calcium concentrations in different components used along with the samples in the native gel experiments. These were: 20 mM Tris pH 7.5, loading dye and running buffer, with distilled water as reference. Calcium determinations were through ICP measurements. It was found that the running buffer contained calcium (244 nM) over the blank

Extravasated Brain-Reactive Autoantibodies Perturb Neuronal Surface Protein Expression in Alzheimer\u27s Pathology

Background: Increased blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability is reported in both the neuropathological and in vivo studies in both Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and age matched cognitively normal, no cognitive impairment (NCI), subjects. Impaired BBB allows various vascular components such as immunoglobulin G (IgG) to extravasate into the brain and specifically bind to various neuronal surface proteins (NSP), also known as brain reactive autoantibodies (BrABs). This interaction is predicted to further enhance deposition of amyloid plaques. Hypothesis: Interaction between extravasated BrABs and its cognate NSPs lower the expression of that NSPs in AD patients. Methods: We selected Western blotting technique to study the expression of various brain proteins and test our hypothesis. Fresh frozen brain samples of AD and NCI subjects were acquired, and total brain protein was extracted using protocol established in Acharya lab. We also identified various NSPs to study the impact of BrABs-NSPs interactions. Additionally, we investigated the expression of amyloid plaques ((amyloid precursor protein (APP)) and apoptosis (Caspase-3) markers. Specific NSPs examined included the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) and anti-choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). To image the membranes, fluorescent imaging was used initially, which was later switched to chemiluminescence, after much troubleshooting. Results: Most of the work done through these experiments was focused on establishing a thorough Western blot protocol that can be used to reliably perform these experiments. This involved determining the appropriate primary and secondary antibodies concentrations, loading concentrations, and testing different imaging settings to determine the most ideal image-acquisition conditions. Towards the end of the fellowship, we were successful in developing a protocol to further explore our investigation. Using this protocol, we were able to visualize bands for ChAT, α7nAChR, and caspase – 3. Conclusions: Using this protocol further Western blot experiments can be run to study and compare the expression levels of various NSP in AD and control samples for testing our hypothesi

Antiapoptotic Actions of Methyl Gallate on Neonatal Rat Cardiac Myocytes Exposed to H 2

Reactive oxygen species trigger cardiomyocyte cell death via increased oxidative stress and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. The prevention of cardiomyocyte apoptosis is a putative therapeutic target in cardioprotection. Polyphenol intake has been associated with reduced incidences of cardiovascular disease and better overall health. Polyphenols like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) can reduce apoptosis of cardiomyocytes, resulting in better health outcomes in animal models of cardiac disorders. Here, we analyzed whether the antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) or polyphenols EGCG, gallic acid (GA) or methyl gallate (MG) can protect cardiomyocytes from cobalt or H2O2-induced stress. We demonstrate that MG can uphold viability of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes exposed to H2O2 by diminishing intracellular ROS, maintaining mitochondrial membrane potential, augmenting endogenous glutathione, and reducing apoptosis as evidenced by impaired Annexin V/PI staining, prevention of DNA fragmentation, and cleaved caspase-9 accumulation. These findings suggest a therapeutic value for MG in cardioprotection

Targeting complement cascade: an alternative strategy for COVID-19

The complement system is a stakeholder of the innate and adaptive immune system and has evolved as a crucial player of defense with multifaceted biological effects. Activation of three complement pathways leads to consecutive enzyme reactions resulting in complement components (C3 and C5), activation of mast cells and neutrophils by anaphylatoxins (C3a and C5a), the formation of membrane attack complex (MAC) and end up with opsonization. However, the dysregulation of complement cascade leads to unsolicited cytokine storm, inflammation, deterioration of alveolar lining cells, culminating in acquired respiratory destructive syndrome (ARDS). Similar pathogenesis is observed with the middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS), severe acquired respiratory syndrome (SARS), and SARS-CoV-2. Activation of the lectin pathway via mannose-binding lectin associated serine protease 2 (MASP2) is witnessed under discrete viral infections including COVID-19. Consequently, the spontaneous activation and deposits of complement components were traced in animal models and autopsy of COVID-19 patients. Pre-clinical and clinical studies evidence that the inhibition of complement components results in reduced complement deposits on target and non-target tissues, and aid in recovery from the pathological conditions of ARDS. Complement inhibitors (monoclonal antibody, protein, peptide, small molecules, etc.) exhibit great promise in blocking the activity of complement components and its downstream effects under various pathological conditions including SARS-CoV. Therefore, we hypothesize that targeting the potential complement inhibitors and complement cascade to counteract lung inflammation would be a better strategy to treat COVID-19.N/

Fingerprint of volcanic forcing on the ENSO-Indian monsoon coupling

Coupling of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian monsoon (IM) is central to seasonal summer monsoon rainfall predictions over the Indian subcontinent, although a nonstationary relationship between the two nonlinear phenomena can limit seasonal predictability. Radiative effects of volcanic aerosols injected into the stratosphere during large volcanic eruptions (LVEs) tend to alter ENSO evolution; however, their impact on ENSO-IM coupling remains unclear. Here, we investigate how LVEs influence the nonlinear behavior of the ENSO and IM dynamical systems using historical data, 25 paleoclimate reconstructions, last-millennium climate simulations, large-ensemble targeted climate sensitivity experiments, and advanced analysis techniques. Our findings show that LVEs promote a significantly enhanced phase-synchronization of the ENSO and IM oscillations, due to an increase in the angular frequency of ENSO. The results also shed innovative insights into the physical mechanism underlying the LVE-induced enhancement of ENSO-IM coupling and strengthen the prospects for improved seasonal monsoon predictions

Estimating demand for potential disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer's disease in the UK.

BACKGROUND: Phase three trials of the monoclonal antibodies lecanemab and donanemab, which target brain amyloid, have reported statistically significant differences in clinical end-points in early Alzheimer's disease. These drugs are already in use in some countries and are going through the regulatory approval process for use in the UK. Concerns have been raised about the ability of healthcare systems, including those in the UK, to deliver these treatments, considering the resources required for their administration and monitoring. AIMS: To estimate the scale of real-world demand for monoclonal antibodies for Alzheimer's disease in the UK. METHOD: We used anonymised patient record databases from two National Health Service trusts for the year 2019 to collect clinical, demographic, cognitive and neuroimaging data for these cohorts. Eligibility for treatment was assessed using the inclusion criteria from the clinical trials of donanemab and lecanemab, with consideration given to diagnosis, cognitive performance, cerebrovascular disease and willingness to receive treatment. RESULTS: We examined the records of 82 386 people referred to services covering around 2.2 million people. After applying the trial criteria, we estimate that a maximum of 906 people per year would start treatment with monoclonal antibodies in the two services, equating to 30 200 people if extrapolated nationally. CONCLUSIONS: Monoclonal antibody treatments for Alzheimer's disease are likely to present a significant challenge for healthcare services to deliver in terms of the neuroimaging and treatment delivery. The data provided here allows health services to understand the potential demand and plan accordingly