India and the Indo-Pacific an emerging regional vision

This report looks at India and the continuing change in political and trade influences in the Indo-Pacific region and the possible effects it will have on existing political powers such as the United States of America and Australia. The rapid expansion of trade, investment and production linkages in the area spanning the Indian and Pacific Oceans and the shift of economic power from the Trans-Atlantic to Asia has given rise to a push by commentators to have the ‘IndoPacific’ region recognised as a single geo-strategic arc. Yet, the concept remains politically contested and there has been insufficient attention paid to the geopolitical and geoeconomic drivers behind its emergence in particular national contexts. Among the most prominent promoters of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ have been commentators and state actors in the United States, Australia and India. This policy brief analyses the debate on the Indo-Pacific in India, in particular, and suggests that the adoption of the Indo-Pacific terminology by Indian officials is a reflection of the dominance of domestic economic imperatives in the making of contemporary Indian foreign policy. This is at variance with the driving motivation behind the promotion of the term by officials in the United States and Australia and suggests that the common adoption of the Indo-Pacific concept does not mean a convergence in foreign policy priorities

Montmorillonite K10-Catalyzed Synthesis of N-Fused Imino-1,2,4-Thiadiazolo Isoquinoline Derivatives

A novel synthesis of N-fused imino-1,2,4-thiadiazolo derivatives is described. This approach involves the inexpensive, nontoxic, recoverable, and easy to handle montmorillonite K10 that catalyzes the coupling of 3-aminoisoquinolines and phenylisothiocyanates to afford the N-fused imino-1,2,4-thiadiazolo isoquinoline motifs in exemplary yields. The main attractions of this synthetic strategy were simple procedure and excellent yields

I2-catalyzed one-pot synthesis of benzofuro/thieno[2,3-b]pyrrole motifs

A novel I2-catalyzed one-pot multicomponent protocol for the synthesis of a variety of elusive furo[2,3-b]pyrrole and thieno[2,3-b]pyrrole libraries has been established. To date, cyclization among alkanone, hydrazine and 2-bromobenzofuran or 2-bromobenzo[b]thiophene has not been explored in one-pot. Thus, the proposed single step protocol provides a versatile alternative to existing routes for accessing useful furo[2,3-b]pyrrole and thieno[2,3-b]pyrrole libraries

Beneficial effects of green tea: A literature review

The health benefits of green tea for a wide variety of ailments, including different types of cancer, heart disease, and liver disease, were reported. Many of these beneficial effects of green tea are related to its catechin, particularly (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, content. There is evidence from in vitro and animal studies on the underlying mechanisms of green tea catechins and their biological actions. There are also human studies on using green tea catechins to treat metabolic syndrome, such as obesity, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular risk factors

Water Sensitive Urban Design: An Investigation of Current Systems, Implementation Drivers, Community Perceptions and Potential to Supplement Urban Water Services

Special Issue: Urban Drainage and Urban Stormwater Managemen

Detection of humoral and cell mediated immune responses among breeder ducks vaccinated against riemerellosis

Riemerellosis is an infectious disease that primarily affects young ducklings, although it can infrequently be manifested in a chronic localised form in older ducks. Though an inactivated vaccine has been found to be most effective in preventing the disease in ducklings, its potency in adult breeder ducks has not been assessed yet. To investigate the same, 200 Kuttanad breeder ducks maintained in the University Poultry and Duck Farm (UPDF), Mannuthy were grouped into two, of 100 birds each, T1 being the control group and T2, the treatment (vaccinated) group. The oil-adjuvanted inactivated vaccine, prepared as per the previously standardised protocol, was administered to the T2 group in two doses, one week apart. Blood samples in serum vials, 20 each from T1 and T2, were collected on days 0, 14, 28, 56 and 90 post-immunisation (PI) whereas blood samples in heparin vials, eight each from both the groups, were collected on days 0, 14, and 28 PI. Humoral immunity (HI) and cell mediated immunity (CMI) in the adult ducks were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and lymphocyte proliferation assay (LPA), respectively. The two assays revealed that the inactivated vaccine elicited a good immune response in the adult ducks, with HI noticed until 90th day PI and an increasing CMI that peaked on 28th day PI

Indian foreign policy and the ambivalence of postcolonial modernity.

India’s foreign policy behaviour often challenges conventional theories of international relations (IR). Why for instance, did India wait 24 years after its first nuclear test to conduct another test? In the wake of its nuclear tests, why did the political leadership highlight the scientific achievements more than the military implications and why did it characterise India’s nuclear program as being unique in terms of its restraint and its commitment to total disarmament? Why did India engage in a discourse of friendship with China rather than adopt the anti-communist stance of other democratic states? These are just some of the questions that cannot be adequately explained by the positivist and ahistorical traditions of IR that down-play the connection between state identity and foreign policy or analyse foreign policy as the product of pre-existing realities, subjectivities and interpretive dispositions. An approach that takes into account the historical and cultural context of the construction of state identity however, offers a fuller understanding of India’s foreign policy behaviour. Using genealogy and the idea of identity performativity, this thesis analyses India’s foreign policy discourse as a representational practice which, through various codings of sex, gender and race, enacts India’s postcolonial identity. The thesis uses the findings of five case studies – India’s relationship with China, its nuclear politics, its relations with its South Asian neighbours and its interventions in Pakistan and Sri Lanka – to suggest that a deep ambivalence toward Western modernity lies at the heart of India’s postcolonial identity and, therefore, the foreign policy discourse that enacts it. This ambivalence arises because, on the one hand, Indian nationalists accepted colonial narratives in which the backwardness of ‘Indian civilisation’ led to its degeneration, but on the other hand, they recognised the need to advance a critique of Western modernity and its deep imbrication with colonialism. The result is a striving for a postcolonial modernity that is not only imitative but strives to be distinctly different and superior to Western modernity by being culturally and morally grounded. Thus, India is fashioned as a postcolonial civilisational-state that brings to international affairs a tradition of morality and ethical conduct which it derives from its civilisational heritage. This thesis argues that in order to comprehend the apparently inexplicable aspects of Indian foreign policy it is crucial to understand this self-fashioning.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of History and Politics, 200

Combined Effect of Metformin and Statin

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is considered a risk factor for the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). Metformin, an anti-diabetic drug, has been shown to lower the cardiovascular events in pre-clinical and clinical studies. Many research articles suggests that metformin has a protective effect on CAD beyond its hypoglycemic effects. Patients with diabetes type 2 have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and commonly use combination therapy consisting of the anti-diabetic drug metformin and a cholesterol-lowering statin. Statins have been found to be a safe and effective approach to reduce serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, which is the cornerstone for primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerosis. However, regular statin monotherapy in some patients may not be sufficient to achieve a therapeutic LDL-C. It has been reported that statins increased the incidence of new-onset diabetes in a dose dependent manner especially in women, the elderly, or in the presence of a family history of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and Asian ethnicity. The molecular mechanisms contributed to antioxidation, anti-inflammation, and anti-apoptosis. In this chapter, we aimed to investigate whether the combined administration of metformin and atorvastatin could achieve superior protective effects on different disease treatment purpose and to elucidate its molecular mechanisms of the combinations