Comparative Review Study on the Forest and Biodiversity Management practices between India and Germany

The review study aims to identify several chains of socio-political events in the forest and wildlife management sectors in India and Germany, which interfered and affected its natural biodiversity during the 19th century. It also deals with the understanding of formulation of laws as an effort to reduce the impact of exploitation of native forests and biodiversity in the respective countries.The comparative study of forest management of India and Germany dates back to more than hundred years when Sir Dietrich Brandis, a German forester, who is now recognized as the Father of Tropical Forestry was appointed as the forest administrator of India by the British Government. The study explores the critical issues in the forest and biodiversity management sectors that were identified more than a century ago and are still prevalent in many parts of the countries which resulted in severe loss of natural biodiversity. The importance of conservation and restoration along with the formulation of forest and biodiversity laws under several circumstances are also highlighted in the study

POLITICAL PRAGMATISM AND ETHICS IN KAUTYLA’S ARTHASHASTRA: CONTRADICTION OR COMPLEMENTARITY

Is there always an inherent contradiction between political pragmatism and ethics? This paper explores this through the classical Indian realist political treatise, the Arthashastra, written by Kautilya. He was the key advisor to Emperor Chandragupta Maurya (c. 317-293 B.C.E), credited with first consolidating the Indian subcontinent into an empire under centralized control. Kautilya is widely agreed to be a pioneer in developing a ‘science of politics’- a great departure from the hitherto existing moralistic, spiritual, ascetic preoccupations and, religious speculations of Indian political philosophy. Kautilya blurred the distinction between morality and political utility. Much of political theory tradition remains oblivious to Kautilya’s contribution to morality in realpolitik and his continuing influence in non-Western societies. His treatise is a significant point of entry into exploring the dilemmas attached to active pursuance of ethical goals while also balancing the imperatives underpinning political pragmatism- a concern which has carried on to this day.Haverá sempre uma contradição intrínseca entre o pragmatismo político e a ética? Este artigo explora este tema através do realismo do tratado político clássico indiano, o Arthashastra, escrito por Kautyla. Ele era o conselheiro principal do Imperador Chandragupta Maurya (c. 317-293 B.C.E), tendo sido reconhecido como o primeiro a consolidar o subcontinente Indiano como um império submetido a um controlo centralizado. É amplamente consensual que Kautyla foi pioneiro em desenvolver uma “ciência política”, a qual representava um grande avanço, quer em relação às preocupações moralistas, espirituais e ascéticas da Filosofia Política indiana, quer em relação às suas especulações religiosas, as quais tinham sido até então dominantes. Kautyla esbateu a distinção entre moralidade e utilidade política. Muita da teoria política tradicional continua a ignorar o contributo de Kautyla relativamente à a moralidade na realpolitik e a sua persistente influência em sociedades não ocidentais. O seu tratado representa uma via significativa para explorar os dilemas relacionados com a procura ativa de finalidades éticas, sem perder de vista os imperativos atinentes ao pragmatismo politico – uma preocupação que se manteve até aos dias de hoje

Role of Antimicrobial Peptide, SAA3, in inducible protection by Pam2-ODN in mouse lung epithelial cells

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp22/1058/thumbnail.jp

Scale Transfer in 1849 : Heinrich Schwabe to Rudolf Wolf

The focus of this study is to reveal the reason behind a scale problem detected around 1849 in the historical version of the International Sunspot Number Series, i.e. version 1 (Leussu et al, Astronomy and Astrophysics, 559, A28, 2013; Friedli, Solar Phys.291, 2505, 2016). From 1826 to 1848 Heinrich Schwabe's observations were considered primary by Rudolf Wolf, and a shift of primary observer from Schwabe to Wolf in 1849 seems to have led to an inconsistency in the Sunspot Number series. In this study we benefited from various datasets, the most important being Schwabe's raw counts from the Mittheilungen (Prof. Wolf's Journals) that have been digitised at the Royal Observatory of Belgium between 2017 and 2019. We provide a robust quantification of the detected problem by using classic algebraic calculations but also different methods such as a method inspired by Lockwood et al (Journal of Geophysical Research (Space Physics), 119(7), 5172, 2014), hence assigning a modern k-factor to Schwabe's observations before 1849. We also assess the implications of this 1849 inconsistency on the International Sunspot Number series (Versions 1 and 2) before and after 1849

Popular Actions, State Reactions: The Moral and Political Economy of Food in India

Can popular mobilisation activate accountability for hunger? In 2012, a group of researchers set out to explore this question through field research in four countries: Bangladesh, India, Kenya and Mozambique. The research was framed in ideas about a contemporary ‘moral economy’ – which when breached, would lead people to mobilise – either in the form of riots, or as movements for the right to food, thus activating state responses. This preliminary report is organised as follows: Section 2 briefly lays out the political economy context of this time. Section 3 elaborates on the impacts and political economy of food price volatility (FPV) and inflation, drawing upon general Indian data and academic debates. Having set the stage, Section 4 elaborates on the methods used in the study and the adaptation of methods to the Indian context. In Section 5 we place popular mobilisation in India in the context of the new social movements literature, to highlight how such mobilisation has been directed at the state. In particular, the features and mobilisation strategies of the Right to Food campaign are drawn out, to set the stage for the next two empirical sections that follow; the first one on popular mobilisation in Madhya Pradesh (Section 6) and the next on ration riots in West Bengal (Section 7). In Section 8 we trace the impact that these mobilisations had at national and state levels, drawing upon interviews with policymakers and activists. Bringing these sections together in Section 9, we revisit the core themes of the research: food price inflation, moral economy, popular mobilisation and policy responses. In the final Section 10 we conclude with observations about what these findings imply for the potential of popular mobilisation to elicit accountability for hunger from the state

DDoS Attack Detection Using Cooperative Overlay Networks and Gossip Protocol

DDoS attacks have major impact on the affected networks viz. packet transmission delays, network outage, website sabotage, financial losses, legitimate-user blockage and reputation damage. Existing DDoS detection techniques are either implemented at the victim node (but the damage is already done) or at many intermediate routers which run DDoS detection algorithms, that adds additional delay and more processing. We aim to detect DDoS attacks by using a new technique of cooperative overlay networks which overcomes the above problems by implementing the DDoS detection algorithm at one hop distance nodes (called defense nodes) from the victim. DOI: 10.17762/ijritcc2321-8169.15062

Ctip2 is a dynamic regulator of epidermal proliferation and differentiation by integrating EGFR and Notch signaling

Epidermal morphogenesis results from a delicate balance between keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation, and this balance is perturbed upon deletion of transcription factor Ctip2. Here we demonstrate that Ctip2, in a cell autonomous manner, controls keratinocyte proliferation and cytoskeletal organization, and regulates the onset and maintenance of differentiation in keratinocytes in culture. Ctip2 integrates keratinocyte proliferation and the switch to differentiation by directly and positively regulating EGFR transcription in proliferating cells and Notch1 transcription in differentiating cells. In proliferative cells, the EGFR promoter is occupied by Ctip2, whereas Ctip2 is only recruited to the Notch1 promoter under differentiating conditions. Activation of EGFR signaling downregulates Ctip2 at the transcript level, whereas high calcium signaling triggers SUMOylation, ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of Ctip2 at the protein level. Together, our findings demonstrate a novel mechanism(s) of Ctip2-mediated, coordinated control of epidermal proliferation and terminal differentiation, and identify a pathway of negative feedback regulation of Ctip2 during epidermal development.Keywords: Ctip2/Bcl11b, Keratinocytes, EGFR, Notch1, Differentiatio

FIBCD1 Deficiency Decreases Disease Severity in a Murine Model of Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis

Aspergillus fumigatus is a ubiquitous mold associated with the development of pulmonary diseases that include invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA), an often fatal opportunistic infection. FIBCD1 is a transmembrane endocytic membrane receptor widely expressed on human epithelium. Although FIBCD1 was previously shown to bind chitin, modulate fungal colonization of the gut, and inhibit intestinal inflammation, the role of FIBCD1 in the context of lung fungal infection remains unknown. In this study, we observed that mortality, fungal burden, and tissue histopathology were decreased in the absence of FIBCD1 in murine IPA. Quantitative RT-PCR analyses demonstrated decreased inflammatory cytokines in the lungs of neutrophil-depleted FIBCD1−/− mice with IPA, when compared with wild-type controls. In contrast, inflammatory cytokines were increased in immune-competent FIBCD1−/− mice after fungal aspiration, suggesting that the presence of neutrophils is associated with cytokine modulation. In contrast to the clear IPA phenotype, FIBCD1−/− mice with systemic infection or bleomycin-induced lung injury exhibited similar morbidity and mortality when compared with their wild-type counterparts. Thus, our study identifies a detrimental role of FIBCD1 in IPA

Delayed Cutaneous Wound Healing and Aberrant Expression of Hair Follicle Stem Cell Markers in Mice Selectively Lacking Ctip2 in Epidermis

Background: COUP-TF interacting protein 2 [(Ctip2), also known as Bcl11b] is an important regulator of skin homeostasis, and is overexpressed in head and neck cancer. Ctip2(ep-/-) mice, selectively ablated for Ctip2 in epidermal keratinocytes, exhibited impaired terminal differentiation and delayed epidermal permeability barrier (EPB) establishment during development, similar to what was observed in Ctip2 null (Ctip2(-/-)) mice. Considering that as an important role of Ctip2, and the fact that molecular networks which underlie cancer progression partially overlap with those responsible for tissue remodeling, we sought to determine the role of Ctip2 during cutaneous wound healing. Methodology/Principal Findings: Full thickness excisional wound healing experiments were performed on Ctip2(L2/L2) and Ctip2(ep-/-) animals per time point and used for harvesting samples for histology, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunoblotting. Results demonstrated inherent defects in proliferation and migration of Ctip2 lacking keratinocytes during re-epithelialization. Mutant mice exhibited reduced epidermal proliferation, delayed keratinocyte activation, altered cell-cell adhesion and impaired ECM development. Post wounding, Ctip2(ep-/-) mice wounds displayed lack of E-Cadherin suppression in the migratory tongue, insufficient expression of alpha smooth muscle actin (alpha SMA) in the dermis, and robust induction of K8. Importantly, dysregulated expression of several hair follicle (HF) stem cell markers such as K15, NFATc1, CD133, CD34 and Lrig1 was observed in mutant skin during wound repair. Conclusions/Significance: Results confirm a cell autonomous role of keratinocytic Ctip2 to modulate cell migration, proliferation and/or differentiation, and to maintain HF stem cells during cutaneous wounding. Furthermore, Ctip2 in a non-cell autonomous manner regulated granulation tissue formation and tissue contraction during wound closure

Delayed Cutaneous Wound Healing and Aberrant Expression of Hair Follicle Stem Cell Markers in Mice Selectively Lacking Ctip2 in Epidermis

This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by PLoS and can be found at: http://www.plosone.org/home.action.Background: COUP-TF interacting protein 2 [(Ctip2), also known as Bcl11b] is an important regulator of skin homeostasis, and is overexpressed in head and neck cancer. Ctip2(ep-/-) mice, selectively ablated for Ctip2 in epidermal keratinocytes, exhibited impaired terminal differentiation and delayed epidermal permeability barrier (EPB) establishment during development, similar to what was observed in Ctip2 null (Ctip2(-/-)) mice. Considering that as an important role of Ctip2, and the fact that molecular networks which underlie cancer progression partially overlap with those responsible for tissue remodeling, we sought to determine the role of Ctip2 during cutaneous wound healing. \ud \ud Methodology/Principal Findings: Full thickness excisional wound healing experiments were performed on Ctip2(L2/L2) and Ctip2(ep-/-) animals per time point and used for harvesting samples for histology, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunoblotting. Results demonstrated inherent defects in proliferation and migration of Ctip2 lacking keratinocytes during re-epithelialization. Mutant mice exhibited reduced epidermal proliferation, delayed keratinocyte activation, altered cell-cell adhesion and impaired ECM development. Post wounding, Ctip2(ep-/-) mice wounds displayed lack of E-Cadherin suppression in the migratory tongue, insufficient expression of alpha smooth muscle actin (alpha SMA) in the dermis, and robust induction of K8. Importantly, dysregulated expression of several hair follicle (HF) stem cell markers such as K15, NFATc1, CD133, CD34 and Lrig1 was observed in mutant skin during wound repair. \ud \ud Conclusions/Significance: Results confirm a cell autonomous role of keratinocytic Ctip2 to modulate cell migration, proliferation and/or differentiation, and to maintain HF stem cells during cutaneous wounding. Furthermore, Ctip2 in a non-cell autonomous manner regulated granulation tissue formation and tissue contraction during wound closure