ICT competency framework for LIS professionals in India: a modular quotient

The study aims to develop a quotient towards a methodology wherein standards of web-based ICT competency framework for LIS professionals in India can be codified in a broad-based model. This in turn could result in evaluating the current skill-sets and identify ICT requirements for future development in LIS areas. This is also an attempt to design a webbased platform for LIS professionals in ICT competencies in India. The modular web-based framework could be used in the national programme for continuing education of librarians as a tool to adapt curricula to the expectations of professionals in university libraries; foster career-long education and lifelong learning of librarians; support assessment according to the professional development plan and to enhance ICT competencies of university personnel

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan- A Successful Scheme of Education in India

The study attempted to know the performance and progress of students enrolled at NFE centers and also available infrastructure and human resources of center in Delhi.   In the study 80 students were selected from four centers. The entire study was conducted in 2 phases. In first phase Standard Procedure for the standardization of Achievement Test, Administration of the Standardized tests on a sample of 80 Students was carried out. In second phase the final data was collected on a sample of 80 students. Findings of the study reveal that the learners studied at the center having adequate facilities 86.50 % marks in math and Hindi and who were studied at  the center having Inadequate learning facilities had less academic achievement (73.60%) than adequate learning centres. The centres which  provide more facilities included learning teaching materials (Level wise text book, Work sheet, Charts, Models, Play materials and toys, Primary science and mathematics kit, Maps and globe, Low cost or zero cost learning materials), basic infrastructural facilities etc., performance of learners  was found better than fewer Inadequate-learning Center. The relationship between teacher’s behaviors on academic achievement of the students, Correlation of Hindi with Math is 0.60, Hindi with Teachers is 0.70 and Math with Teachers is 0.41which positively and highly correlated. Keywords: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Achievemen

Method Development and Validation for Quantification of Residual Solvents in Atorvastatin Calcium Drug Substance by GC-HS Using Fid Detector

A proficient GC-HS method was developed for quantification of THIRTEEN residual solvents in Atorvastatin Calcium drugs substance with flame ionization detector (FID) using column Rtx-624, (60m length X 0.25mm diameter) 1.4µm film thickness, Part No.: 10969, Make: Restek.  Nitrogen is used as Carrier gas with Linear velocity of 27.7cm/se on Shimadzu /GC-2010 Plus/HS-20 instrument. The proposed method was validated for System suitability, Specificity, Linearity, LOD and LOQ determination, Recovery, Precision, Range and Robustness. All the parameters were found within the acceptable limits. Linearity of all thirteen residual solvents are in the range of LOQ to 150%. The established methodology was commercially useful, specific, accurate, precise and suitable for the analysis of Residual solvents in Atorvastatin Calcium drug substance

Fuzzy Delphi and hybrid AH-MATEL integration for monitoring of paint utilization

This study investigates the unattended aspects of paint utilization selection criteria in industries. In today competitive business environment almost all companies focus towards sustainable manufacturing. The utilization evaluation and selection criteria for paint and its consumption reduction is the top priority for industry. Especially in automotive industries, paint shop stands as a centre for hazardous waste due to wastage of paint and thinner during the painting process. This research work focuses on optimizing consumption of paint by finding most important criteria affecting paint consumption and optimizing the same to achieve maximum paint yield. The study uses the routes of Delphi technique in a fuzzy environment to find out the most important criteria for paint utilization selection, so that maximize utilization and minimize consump-tion reduction of paint has been achieved. An integrated approach of AHP and DEMATEL methods has been implemented to prioritize the criteria and to familiarize the relationship within criteria. The outcomes of the study substantiate and proves that this study is the best way to select a particular paint utilization selection criteria for the paint shop and also to anticipate the optimal level of paint utilization.N/

Molecular Analysis of a Leprosy Immunotherapeutic Bacillus Provides Insights into Mycobacterium Evolution

BACKGROUND: Evolutionary dynamics plays a central role in facilitating the mechanisms of species divergence among pathogenic and saprophytic mycobacteria. The ability of mycobacteria to colonize hosts, to proliferate and to cause diseases has evolved due to its predisposition to various evolutionary forces acting over a period of time. Mycobacterium indicus pranii (MIP), a taxonomically unknown 'generalist' mycobacterium, acts as an immunotherapeutic against leprosy and is approved for use as a vaccine against it. The large-scale field trials of this MIP based leprosy vaccine coupled with its demonstrated immunomodulatory and adjuvant property has led to human clinical evaluations of MIP in interventions against HIV-AIDS, psoriasis and bladder cancer. MIP, commercially available as 'Immuvac', is currently the focus of advanced phase III clinical trials for its antituberculosis efficacy. Thus a comprehensive analysis of MIP vis-à-vis evolutionary path, underpinning its immanent immunomodulating properties is of the highest desiderata. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Genome wide comparisons together with molecular phylogenetic analyses by fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (FAFLP), enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) based genotyping and candidate orthologues sequencing revealed that MIP has been the predecessor of highly pathogenic Mycobacterium avium intracellulare complex (MAIC) that did not resort to parasitic adaptation by reductional gene evolution and therefore, preferred a free living life-style. Further analysis suggested a shared aquatic phase of MAIC bacilli with the early pathogenic forms of Mycobacterium, well before the latter diverged as 'specialists'. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This evolutionary paradigm possibly affirms to marshall our understanding about the acquisition and optimization of virulence in mycobacteria and determinants of boundaries therein

Indirect Detection of an Epitope-Specific Response to HIV-1 gp120 Immunization in Human Subjects

A specific response of human serum neutralizing antibodies (nAb) to a conformational epitope as a result of vaccination of human subjects with the surface envelope glycoprotein (gp120) of HIV-1 has not previously been documented. Here, we used computational analysis to assess the epitope-specific responses of human subjects, which were immunized with recombinant gp120 immunogens in the VAX003 and VAX004 clinical trials. Our computational methodology—a variation of sieve analysis—compares the occurrence of specific nAb targeted conformational 3D epitopes on viruses from infected individuals who received vaccination to the occurrence of matched epitopes in the viruses infecting placebo subjects. We specifically studied seven crystallographically defined nAb targeted conformational epitopes in the V3 loop, an immunogenic region of gp120. Of the six epitopes present in the immunogens and targeted by known monoclonal neutralizing antibodies, only the one targeted by the anti-V3 nAb 2219 exhibited a significant reduction in occurrence in vaccinated subjects compared to the placebo group. This difference occurred only in the VAX003 Thailand cohort. No difference was seen between vaccinated and placebo groups for the occurrence of an epitope that was not present in the immunogen. Thus, it can be theorized that a specific 2219-like human neutralizing antibody immune response to AIDSVAX immunization occurred in the VAX003 cohort, and that this response protected subjects from a narrow subset of HIV-1 viruses circulating in Thailand in the 1990s and bearing the conformational epitope targeted by the neutralizing antibody 2219

SOIL HEALTH STATUS OF SELECT VILLAGE OF DISTRICT SONIPAT, HARYANA AND WAY FORWARD

Soil health and fertility are the basis for gaining sustainable profit through higher productivity by the farmers. Using optimal doses of fertilizers and cropping pattern as per the scientific recommendations is the first step towards sustainable farming. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is the most important component in maintaining soil quality because of its role in improving physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil. Organic matter is an important source of nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. Soil Health card is a Government of India's scheme promoted by the Department of Agriculture & Co-operation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, apart from giving the health index of soil, will also indicate fertilizer recommendations and soil amendment required for the farm. Under Govt. of Haryana sanctioned Soil Health Card project, ARF carried out the fertility status study of 3000 acres of land of village Baroda Mor, block Mundlana, Tehsil Gohana, Sonipat, Haryana and distribute the cards well before the harvesting of Rabi crop with proper recommendation on dosage of appropriate fertilizer as per deficiency of essential nutrient parameter. View Article DOI: 10.47856/ijaast.2021.v08i6.00

Polyphasic Taxonomic Analysis Establishes Mycobacterium indicus pranii as a Distinct Species

that integrate its phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and molecular phylogenetic attributes..

Interactions of Attenuated Mycobacterium tuberculosis phoP Mutant with Human Macrophages

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis phoP mutant SO2 derived from a clinical isolate was shown to be attenuated in mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages and in vivo mouse infection model and has demonstrated a high potential as attenuated vaccine candidate against tuberculosis. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study, we analyze the adhesion and the intracellular growth and trafficking of SO2 in human macrophages. Our results indicate an enhanced adhesion to phagocitic cells and impaired intracellular replication of SO2 in both monocyte-derived macrophages and human cell line THP-1 in comparison with the wild type strain, consistent with murine model. Intracellular trafficking analysis in human THP-1 cells suggest that attenuation of SO2 within macrophages could be due to an impaired ability to block phagosome-lysosome fusion compared with the parental M. tuberculosis strain. No differences were found between SO2 and the wild-type strains in the release and mycobacterial susceptibility to nitric oxide (NO) produced by infected macrophages. Conclusions/Significance: SO2 has enhanced ability to bind human macrophages and differs in intracellular trafficking as to wild-type M. tuberculosis. The altered lipid profile expression of the phoP mutant SO2 and its inability to secrete ESAT-6 i

A Highly Stable Plastidic-Type Ferredoxin-NADP(H) Reductase in the Pathogenic Bacterium Leptospira interrogans

Leptospira interrogans is a bacterium that is capable of infecting animals and humans, and its infection causes leptospirosis with a range of symptoms from flu-like to severe illness and death. Despite being a bacteria, Leptospira interrogans contains a plastidic class ferredoxin-NADP(H) reductase (FNR) with high catalytic efficiency, at difference from the bacterial class FNRs. These flavoenzymes catalyze the electron transfer between NADP(H) and ferredoxins or flavodoxins. The inclusion of a plastidic FNR in Leptospira metabolism and in its parasitic life cycle is not currently understood. Bioinformatic analyses of the available genomic and proteins sequences showed that the presence of this enzyme in nonphotosynthetic bacteria is restricted to the Leptospira genus and that a [4Fe-4S] ferredoxin (LB107) encoded by the Leptospira genome may be the natural substrate of the enzyme. Leptospira FNR (LepFNR) displayed high diaphorase activity using artificial acceptors and functioned as a ferric reductase. LepFNR displayed cytochrome c reductase activity with the Leptospira LB107 ferredoxin with an optimum at pH 6.5. Structural stability analysis demonstrates that LepFNR is one of the most stable FNRs analyzed to date. The persistence of a native folded LepFNR structure was detected in up to 6 M urea, a condition in which the enzyme retains 38% activity. In silico analysis indicates that the high LepFNR stability might be due to robust interactions between the FAD and the NADP+ domains of the protein. The limited bacterial distribution of plastidic class FNRs and the biochemical and structural properties of LepFNR emphasize the uniqueness of this enzyme in the Leptospira metabolism. Our studies show that in L. interrogans a plastidic-type FNR exchanges electrons with a bacterial-type ferredoxin, process which has not been previously observed in nature