A Study of Female Figure in Bapsi Sidhwa’s ‘The Pakistani Bride’ and Tehmina Durrani’s ‘My Feudal Lord’

The Feminist Movement, of the twentieth century that metamorphosed the attitude and perception of the world. It provided a better understanding of women’s issues and rights and endeavored to bring them forward because they had been marginalized for so long. While the privileged women of the continent got into limelight by means of their writings, women belonging to third world still had their voice unheard. There is also a rich tradition of Women writing in English being carried out efficiently with some remarkable writers, who have not only gained recognition at internationally acclaimed. The novels strongly comments about the influence of cultural conflicts and its impact on the social order. Bapsi Sidhwa's novel The Pakistani Bride deals with the repression of women in the patriarchal Pakistani society. The novel is based on a true story narrated to Sidhwa when with her family; she stayed at an army camping the remotest regions of the Karakoram Mountains. My Feudal Lord is one of the extraordinary autobiographies that can ever be written. Durrani uses it as a means of exposing the hypocrisy of ruling elites in Pakistan generally and the cruel nature of her husband specifically. In this book she talks about social ethos of Pakistani marital life by citing her own marriage as an example.Keywords: privileged, milieu, promise, experience, autobiography, high.Introductio

Molekularna karakterizacija cjelovite kodirajuće sekvencije gena MBL1 u indijskog vodenog bivola (Bubalus bubalis)

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a member of the collectin protein family that binds a broad range of microorganisms and activates the lectin-complement pathway of innate immunity. A number of mutations have been found in both the coding as well as the non-coding regions of the MBL1 gene in various species, of which several variations affected the assembly of MBL1, thus leading to a low level of plasmic MBL and innate immune dysfunctions. In the present study, we have reported molecular cloning and characterization of the complete coding sequence of the MBL1 gene in the Indian buffalo breed Murrah. A 951 bp fragment of the MBL1 gene was amplified, cloned and sequenced. Multiple sequence alignment with other buffalo and cattle breeds revealed that the Murrah buffalo MBL1 CDS was 98.1-99.6% homologous to other buffalo breeds, and 98.3-98.5% similar to cattle breeds at nucleotide level. It was 96.8-98.8% homologous to buffalo breeds and 96.8-97.2% similar to cattle breeds at amino acid level. The amino acid sequence of the Murrah buffalo MBL1 contained two non-synonymous amino acid substitutions (L204P and S180P). Further, PCR-RFLP was performed to screen 50 Murrah buffalo for the presence of SNPs, g.855G>A in intron I and g.2686T>C, as well as g.2651G>A in exon 2 region of the MBL1 gene. The ApaI/intron I PCR-RFLP assay revealed a polymorphic pattern with three genotypes viz., AG (90%), GG (8%) and AA (2%), with allelic frequencies 0.94 for G and 0.06 for A. HaeIII/exon 2 PCR-RFLP assay exhibited the presence of three genotypes, namely, TC (66%), TT (32%) and CC (2%) with allelic frequencies 0.15 for T and 0.85 for C. StyI/exon 2. PCR-RFLP assay showed a monomorphic pattern for g.2651G>A with GG genotype only. We further examined the association of these SNPs with milk production traits and somatic cell score (SCS), and found no significant difference for any of the traits. Since the present study has formulated the results on the basis of a relatively small sample size, further studies with a larger sample size are required to validate the effects of polymorphisms.Lektin koji veže manozu (MBL), član je porodice proteina kolektina koja veže veliki broj mikroorganizama i aktivira lektinski put komplementa prirođene imunosti. U različitim vrstama pronađene su brojne mutacije u kodirajućim i nekodirajućim regijama gena MBL1. Za nekoliko je mutacije utvrđeno da utječu na strukturu gena MBL1, što dovodi do snižavanja razine MBL-a i prirođenog poremećaja imunosnog sustava. U ovom je istraživanju provedeno molekularno kloniranje i karakterizacija cjelovitog slijeda gena MBL1 u indijskog vodenog bivola pasmine Murrah. Fragment s ukupno je 951 bp gena MBL1 umnožen je kloniran i sekvenciran. Višestruko poravnanje sekvencija s drugim pasminama bivola i goveda otkrilo je da je kodirajuća sekvencija gena MBL1 bila 98,1 – 99,6 % podudarna s drugim pasminama bivola i 98,3 – 98,5 % podudarna s drugim pasminama goveda na nukleotidnoj razini. Na razini aminokiselina ustanovljena je podudarnost od 96,8 do 98,8 % s pasminama bivola i 96,8 – 97,2 % s pasminama goveda. Sekvencija aminokiselina MBL1 u vodenih bivola pasmine Murrah sadržavala je dvije nepodudarne supstitucije aminokiselina (L204P i S180P). Osim toga proveden je PCR-RFLP kako bi se 50 bivola pasmine Murrah analiziralo na prisutnost jednonukleotidnih polimorfizama (SNP), g. 855G > A u intronu I i g. 2686T > C, kao i g. 2651G > A, u eksonu 2 regije gena MBL1. Test ApaI/intron I PCR-RFLP otkrio je polimorfni obrazac s tri genotipa: AG (90 %), GG (8 %) i AA (2 %) s učestalošću alela od 0,94 za G i 0,06 za A. Test HaeIII/exon 2 PCR-RFLP pokazao je prisutnost triju genotipova: TC (66 %), TT (32 %) i CC (2 %) s učestalošću alela od 0,15 za T i 0,85 za C. Test StyI/exon 2 PCR-RFLP pokazao je monomorfni obrazac za g. 2651G > A, samo s genotipom GG. Osim navedenog istražena je i povezanost SNP-ova s proizvodnim svojstvima mlijeka i omjerom somatskih stanica (SCS). Nije pronađena znakovita razlika ni za jedno svojstvo. S obzirom na to da se ovo istraživanje temelji na malom broju uzoraka, potrebna su istraživanja koja će uključiti veći broj životinja kako bi se provjerili učinci polimorfizama

Molekularna analiza i istraživanje polimorfizma egzona 10 gena za receptore folikulostimulirajućeg hormona (FSHR) u indijskih pasmina goveda

FSH receptors are important binding sites of the follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in ovaries and are coded by the FSHR gene which has 10 exons and 9 introns. Exon 10 is the largest (>1200 bp) of all the exons. In the present study, exon 10 of the FSHR gene partial coding sequence (CDS) was cloned and characterized in Sahiwal and Hariana cattle breeds, and DNA polymorphism was investigated using AluI/PCR-RFLP assay. The partial CDS of the Sahiwal and Hariana FSHR exon 10 was 99.3% to 100% similar to exotic cattle breeds at the nucleotide and amino acid level. A missense mutation was found in Sahiwal and Hariana at position 1118 (C→G) that caused an amino acid change at 373 (Thr→Ser) and two nonsense mutations were found at position 729 (G→A), 1180 (C→T). Phylogenetic analysis clearly showed that Sahiwal and Hariana cattle are more closely related to yak and Bos taurus. The 306 bp region of exon 10 on digestion with AluI restriction enzyme revealed three types of genotypes, namely: CC (243 bp and 63 bp), GG (193 bp, 63 bp and 50 bp) and CG (243 bp, 193 bp, 63 bp and 50 bp), where the CG genotype was more frequent (45.0%) than CC (13.5%) and GG (41.5%) genotypes, and the frequency of the G allele was higher (0.64) than the C allele (0.36) in all the screened animals. Chi square (χ2) analysis revealed that the screened animal population was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. An association study revealed a significant (P1200 bp) od svih egzona. U ovom istraživanju, egzon 10 kloniran je iz djelomično kodiranog slijeda (CDS) FSHR gena. Kao materijal za istraživanje poslužila su goveda pasmina sahival i hariana u kojih je DNK polimorfizam analiziran pomoću AluI/PCR-RFLP testa. Na razini nukleotida i aminokiselina, djelomično kodirani slijed (CDS) egzona 10 FSHR gena u goveda sahival odnosno hariana pasmina bio je 99,3% do 100% sličan onom u egzotičnih pasminama goveda. U navedene dvije pasmine na položaju 1118 (C → G) pronađena je pogrešna mutacija koja je uzrokovala promjenu aminokiseline na 373 (THR → SER), te dvije besmislene mutacije koje su nađene na položajima 729 (G → A) i 1180 (C → T). Filogenetska analiza jasno je pokazala da su goveda pasmina sahival i hariana u većoj mjeri povezana s jakom i domaćim govedom (Bos taurus). Područje egzona 10, koje sadrži 306 parova baza pokazalo je nakon cijepanja s AluI restrikcijskim enzimom 3 genotipa: CC (243 bp i 63 bp), GG (193 bp, 63 bp i 50 bp) i CG (243 bp, 193 bp, 63 bp i 50 bp). Genotip CG bio je učestaliji (45,0%) od genotipova CC (13,5%) i GG (41,5%). Uzevši u obzir sve pretražene životinje, učestalost G alela bila je veća (0,64) od C alela (0,36). Hi-kvadrat (χ 2) analizom je utvrđeno da je pretražena populacija goveda bila u Hardy-Weinberg ravnoteži. Statistička analiza povezanosti pokazala je znakovite (P<0,05) razliku između genotipova za obilježja ukupnog prinosa mlijeka i trajanja laktacije, pri čemu se istaknuo genotip CC s većim prinosom mlijeka u odnosu na druge genotipove

Photoconductivity and photo-detection response of multiferroic bismuth iron oxide

We report visible light detection with in-plane BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films grown on pre-patterned inter-digital electrodes. In-plane configured BFO film displayed photocurrents with a 40:1 photo-to-dark-current ratio and improved photo-sensing ability for >15000 s (4 hrs) under small bias voltage (42V). Nearly sixty percent of the photo-induced charge carriers decay in 1.0 s and follow a double-exponential decay model. At 373 K the effect of light does not significantly increase the dark current, probably due to reduced mobility. Sub-bandgap weak monochromatic light (1 mw/cm2) shows one fold increase in photo-charge carriers.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure

Genetically engineered pigs and target-specific immunomodulation provide significant graft survival and hope for clinical cardiac xenotransplantation

ObjectivesCardiac transplantation and available mechanical alternatives are the only possible solutions for end-stage cardiac disease. Unfortunately, because of the limited supply of human organs, xenotransplantation may be the ideal method to overcome this shortage. We have recently seen significant prolongation of heterotopic cardiac xenograft survival from 3 to 12 months and beyond.MethodsHearts from genetically engineered piglets that were alpha 1-3 galactosidase transferase knockout and expressed the human complement regulatory gene, CD46 (groups A-C), and the human thrombomodulin gene (group D) were heterotropically transplanted in baboons treated with antithymocyte globulin, cobra venom factor, anti-CD20 antibody, and costimulation blockade (anti-CD154 antibody [clone 5C8]) in group A, anti-CD40 antibody (clone 3A8; 20 mg/kg) in group B, clone 2C10R4 (25 mg/kg) in group C, or clone 2C10R4 (50 mg/kg) in group D, along with conventional nonspecific immunosuppressive agents.ResultsGroup A grafts (n = 8) survived for an average of 70 days, with the longest survival of 236 days. Some animals in this group (n = 3) developed microvascular thrombosis due to platelet activation and consumption, which resulted in spontaneous hemorrhage. The median survival time was 21 days in group B (n = 3), 80 days in group C (n = 6), and more than 200 days in group D (n = 5). Three grafts in group D are still contracting well, with the longest ongoing graft survival surpassing the 1-year mark.ConclusionsGenetically engineered pig hearts (GTKOhTg.hCD46.hTBM) with modified targeted immunosuppression (anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody) achieved long-term cardiac xenograft survival. This potentially paves the way for clinical xenotransplantation if similar survival can be reproduced in an orthotopic transplantation model

Chimeric 2C10R4 anti-CD40 antibody therapy is critical for long-term survival of GTKO.hCD46.hTBM pig-to-primate cardiac xenograft

Preventing xenograft rejection is one of the greatest challenges of transplantation medicine. Here, we describe a reproducible, long-term survival of cardiac xenografts from alpha 1-3 galactosyltransferase gene knockout pigs, which express human complement regulatory protein CD46 and human thrombomodulin (GTKO.hCD46.hTBM), that were transplanted into baboons. Our immunomodulatory drug regimen includes induction with anti-thymocyte globulin and alpha CD20 antibody, followed by maintenance with mycophenolate mofetil and an intensively dosed alpha CD40 (2C10R4) antibody. Median (298 days) and longest (945 days) graft survival in five consecutive recipients using this regimen is significantly prolonged over our recently established survival benchmarks (180 and 500 days, respectively). Remarkably, the reduction of aCD40 antibody dose on day 100 or after 1 year resulted in recrudescence of anti-pig antibody and graft failure. In conclusion, genetic modifications (GTKO.hCD46.hTBM) combined with the treatment regimen tested here consistently prevent humoral rejection and systemic coagulation pathway dysregulation, sustaining long-term cardiac xenograft survival beyond 900 days

Blood Cardioplegia Induction, Perfusion Storage and Graft Dysfunction in Cardiac Xenotransplantation

BackgroundPerioperative cardiac xenograft dysfunction (PCXD) describes a rapidly developing loss of cardiac function after xenotransplantation. PCXD occurs despite genetic modifications to increase compatibility of the heart. We report on the incidence of PCXD using static preservation in ice slush following crystalloid or blood-based cardioplegia versus continuous cold perfusion with XVIVO© heart solution (XHS) based cardioplegia.MethodsBaboons were weight matched to genetically engineered swine heart donors. Cardioplegia volume was 30 cc/kg by donor weight, with del Nido cardioplegia and the addition of 25% by volume of donor whole blood. Continuous perfusion was performed using an XVIVO © Perfusion system with XHS to which baboon RBCs were added.ResultsPCXD was observed in 5/8 that were preserved with crystalloid cardioplegia followed by traditional cold, static storage on ice. By comparison, when blood cardioplegia was used followed by cold, static storage, PCXD occurred in 1/3 hearts and only in 1/5 hearts that were induced with XHS blood cardioplegia followed by continuous perfusion. Survival averaged 17 hours in those with traditional preservation and storage, followed by 11.47 days and 15.03 days using blood cardioplegia and XHS+continuous preservation, respectively. Traditional preservation resulted in more inotropic support and higher average peak serum lactate 14.3±1.7 mmol/L compared to blood cardioplegia 3.6±3.0 mmol/L and continuous perfusion 3.5±1.5 mmol/L.ConclusionBlood cardioplegia induction, alone or followed by XHS perfusion storage, reduced the incidence of PCXD and improved graft function and survival, relative to traditional crystalloid cardioplegia-slush storage alone