India's citizenship struggle: the Modi government pushes its nationalist agenda

With the recent reform of India's citizenship law, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pushing its Hindu-nationalist agenda. The reform became necessary to fix the shortcomings of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state of Assam and to pave the way for a national citizens' register. Crit­ics are accusing the government of outright discrimination, against Muslims in par­ticular, because the plan could deprive a large number of people of their right to citizenship and undermine fundamental values of the constitution. The measures have also met with much criticism internationally, including from the United States and the United Nations. India's foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, has defended the reform plans and referred to China’s handling of domestic political problems. If India were to embark on such a path in the long term, this could pos­sibly spark a discussion on whether, and to what extent, an increasingly Hindu-nationalistic India can still be considered a partner that shares values with the West. (author's abstract

A Tale of Two States: Analyzing the State of Higher Education in Kerala and Karnataka

In India, over 32 crore active learners have been affected by the closure of educational institutions across the country. There are a lot of obstacles such as accessibility, pedagogy and curriculum, infrastructure, and capabilities that can affect the transformation process. However, there is a positive side to digital learning such as increased efficiency, and scope of mass scale-up of operations. Every state in India faces unique challenges and a single policy representing the entire country’s higher education system is unviable. The authors attempt to analyze the state of higher education in the state of Kerala and Karnataka based on four parameters, namely, accessibility, quality, privatization, and digital infrastructure. The last parameter being prime and obvious because pandemic is the inflection point for e-learning and digital infrastructure plays an important role. The research was conducted through an in-detailed literature review of research papers, policy documents, news articles, and government reports. Keywords: higher education, quality, digital literacy, digital, e-learning DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-10-01 Publication date: April 30th 202

Indiens Ringen um die Staatsbürgerschaft: die Modi-Regierung forciert ihre nationalistische Agenda

Mit der Reform des Staatsbürgerschaftsrechts treibt die regierende Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) von Premierminister Modi ihre hindu-nationalistische Agenda weiter voran. Die Reform wurde notwendig, um die Defizite des Bürgerregisters des Bundes­staats Assam zu beheben und den Weg für ein landesweites Staatsbürgerregister zu ebnen. Kritiker werfen der Regierung vor, dass die Vorhaben vor allem Muslime und Musliminnen diskriminieren, einer großen Zahl von Personen den Anspruch auf die Staatsbürgerschaft entziehen könnten und Grundwerte der Verfassung unter­graben. Die beiden Maßnahmen sind auch international auf viel Kritik gestoßen, unter ande­rem aus den USA und von den Vereinten Nationen. Der indische Außenminister hat die Reformvorhaben verteidigt und auf Chinas Umgang mit innenpolitischen Pro­blemen verwiesen. Sollte Indien dauerhaft einen solchen Weg einschlagen, könnte dies auch eine Diskussion in Gang setzen, ob und inwieweit ein zunehmend hindu-nationalistisch geprägtes Indien noch als ein Wertepartner des Westens gelten kann. (Autorenreferat

Hypergonadotropic hypogonadism: looking beyond ovarian senescence

Gonadotropin resistant ovary syndrome (GROS) is a rare cause of primary infertility where ovarian reserve is present but they fail to respond to gonadotropin stimulation. This condition can be easily confused with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) if thorough workup is not done as in both the cases serum FSH is high, but ovarian reserve is normal in GROS and low or absent in POI. So, we are presenting this case of GROS. A 28-year-old lady presented with oligomenorrhoea since menarche and primary infertility. On workup her serum FSH and LH levels were markedly elevated, serum estradiol was normal. Markers of ovarian reserve, ante Mullerian hormones (AMH) and antral follicle count (AFC), were normal. Her autoantibody assay was also normal. She did not respond to stimulation with high doses of gonadotropins (uHMG). Hypergonadotropic hypogonadism is not always POI. We should not miss diagnosis of GROS where it is possible to have own biological child by in vitro maturation of immature oocytes, whereas in POI donor oocyte is the only fertility option

A study regarding the availability and utilization of water supply and sanitation practices in rural Amritsar, Punjab, India

Background: Access to safe water and sanitation practices is an important issue of health and development at local, regional and national levels. The government has come up with various facilities regarding the water supply and sanitation but there are various factors which curtail their utilization. The present study deals with the extent of utilization and factors impeding the utilization of such services at the village level.Methods: The present impeding cross-sectional study was carried out in village Nagkalan, Amritsar, where the eldest adult member present in the house at the time of the visit was interviewed. Every house of the village was visited during the period of January 2017 to December 2017, and a total of 1123 families were included in the final analysis. Thereafter, data was compiled and analyzed.Results: Out of total 1123 families, only 31.4% were using government water supply (tap water); while 42.7% had no government connection at all and used submersible as their sole source of water supply. 20.2% did not have a toilet at their house and therefore practiced open defecation; out of which majority families belonged to lower socio-economic status (statistically significant). Out of total 896 families having a toilet at their house, there were only 30 families (3.4%) who responded that some of the family members practice open defecation. Also, only 6.1% of the respondents were aware about the functions of Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committee (VHSNC).Conclusions: More number of families (42.7%) were dependent on submersible pump as sole source of water supply. 20.2% lacked separate toilet facility, mostly belonging to lower socio- economic status. Only 6.1% were aware regarding the VHSNC. All the families disposed of their household waste on the roads

Antimicrobial activity of seed, pomace and leaf extracts of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) against foodborne and food spoilage pathogens

The present study was conducted to evaluate the total phenolic content (TPC) and antibacterial properties of crude extracts of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) pomace, seeds and leaves against 17 foodborne pathogens. The methanolic extract of leaves exhibited high total phenolic content (278.80 mg GAE/g extract) and had low minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 125 μg/ml against Listeria monocytogenes. Salmonella typhimurium strain was found to be resistant against all tested extracts. The antilisterial activity of the methanolic extract of leaves was tested on carrots. Bacterial enumeration was significantly reduced by 0.15 to 0.31, 0.26 to 1.72 and 0.59 to 4.10 log cfu/g after 0 to 60 min exposure when treated with 125, 2500 and 5000 μg/ml extract, respectively. Thus, in addition to its use as a functional food ingredient, leaves extract from sea buckthorn (SBT) can possibly be used as a biosanitizer in food industries.Key words: Antimicrobial activity, Hippophae, Listeria monocytogenes, natural sanitizer, seabuckthorn

Diagnosis of Amyloidosis: From History to Current Tools

The term amyloid encompasses a large variety of misfolded proteins with varying amino acids unified by the antiparallel beta-pleated sheet configuration and characteristic Congo red staining. The etiology of these proteins is equally varied, ranging from neoplastic plasma cell disorder, hereditary causes to inflammatory disorders. The protean clinical manifestation makes a high index of clinical suspicion the first crucial step in the diagnosis. A battery of investigations needs to be carried out for a complete diagnosis of amyloidosis and its underlying etiology. Biopsy with Congo red staining constitutes the most important modality for confirmation of amyloid. For further testing, varying modalities with increasing complexity, such as immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, and mass spectrometry, need to be employed. We discuss, in the course of the current chapter, this fascinating protein from a clinical diagnosis perspective. The requisite investigations are also discussed in detail

UNIQUE BENCHMARKING TOOL TO MEASURE RELATIVE CARDHOLDER CARBON FOOTPRINT COMPARED TO IN-MARKET AND GLOBAL PEERS

The present disclosure relates to a method and system for calculating Carbon (CO2) emission scores from customer purchase data and creating a score-based numerical representation to represent the carbon footprint with respect to the cardholder’s green-score benchmark. The present disclosure suggests mapping the MCCs to purchased item-level information to obtain CO2 intensity multipliers. Thereafter, the net carbon emission value is calculated based on the transaction data associated with the purchased items. Further, a visual representation of the numerical scale score is created to represent the user green score/carbon footprint