BJP Victory: Leadership Cult or Institutional Change?

The BJP’s resounding victory in the 2014 elections is undoubtedly the start of a new era in Indian politics. It will reverberate regionally within South Asia, as well as globally with international investors and governments keen to enter the Indian market. In retrospect we might see the Congress victories of 2004 and 2009, significant as they were, as merely an aberration in the longer march of the BJP since the 1980s

The mythology of Modi

Manali Desai argues that the ongoing debate about Narendra Modi points to a broader battle being waged for the future of India as well as a clash over fundamental values

State Formation and Radical Democracy in India

State Formation and Radical Democracy in India analyzes one of the most important cases of developmental change in the twentieth century, namely, Kerala in southern India and begs the question of whether insurgency among the marginalized poor can use formal representative democracy to create better life chances. Going back to pre-independence, colonial India, Manali Desai takes a long historical view of Kerala and compares it with the state of West Bengal, which like Kerala has been ruled by leftists but has not had the same degree of success in raising equal access to welfare, literacy, and basic subsistence. This comparison brings the role of left party formation and its mode of insertion in civil society to the fore, raising the question of what kinds of parties can effect the most substantive anti-poverty reforms within a vibrant democracy. This book offers a new, historically based explanation for Kerala’s post-independence political and economic direction

Why doesn’t the BJP face greater resistance from lower castes in Gujarat? Part 1

LSE’s Dr Manali Desai (Department of Sociology) along with Dr Indrajit Roy (Research Fellow at Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford) recently conducted interviews across several communities in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, as part of the Leverhulme research project Beyond Identity? Markets and Logics of Democratisation in India, 1991-Present. The interviews reveal the contested and ambivalent character of political subjectivities among certain communities in the state, raising questions about narratives of Hindutva in Gujarat

GREEN SYNTHESIS OF SILVER ANTIMICROBIALS FOR ITS POTENTIAL APPLICATION IN CONTROL OF NOSOCOMIAL INFECTIONS

 Objective: The aim of the project was to obtain silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with an extract obtained from Penicillium notatum and to functionalizepaper for its use as antimicrobial.Methods: Silver nitrate was taken as the starting material and formation of the AgNPs was monitored using ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) absorptionspectroscopy. We have used transmission electron microscopy, zeta potential measurement and UV-VIS spectroscopy to characterize the NPs obtained.The antibacterial activity of the NP was measured by Kirby–Bauer method.Results: Synthesized AgNPs monitored using UV-VIS spectroscopy indicated a typical surface plasmon absorption maxima of 430 nm from the UV-VISspectrum. The average size and morphology of AgNPs were determined by differential light scattering and found in the range of 30-40 nm. The NPsgenerated were found to have high antimicrobial and bactericidal activity against Gram-negative as well as Gram-positive bacteria such as Escherichiacoli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtillis.Conclusion: This study indicates successful green synthesis of AgNPs without the use of capping agents. Experimentation proved that AgNPsconjugated with paper can be used to design antimicrobial wipes for the hospitals. As the AgNPs have already been proved to have antimicrobialactivity, the disadvantage of generating antibiotic resistant strains can be easily avoided.Keywords: Silver nanoparticle, Penicillium notatum, Nosocomial infections

IN SILICO ANALYSIS OF ACRAL PEELING SKIN SYNDROME: A PROTEOMIC APPROACH

ABSTRACTObjective: Acral peeling skin syndrome (APSS), a rare genetic disorder, indicated by the continuous blistering and shedding of the outer epidermallayers. Transglutaminase 5 (TGM5), a calcium-dependent TGM, present in the epidermis has been implicated as the cause of APSS. An attempt hasbeen made to compare in silico the wild and mutant form of TGM5 and its implication on its interaction with involucrin (IVL).Methods: Comparative modeling was performed using MAESTRO for proteins TGM5 and IVL using templates from the protein databank. Generatedmodel was later refined using side chain refinement and loop refinement. Three-dimensional (3D) structure of TGM5 and IVL was analyzed inPROCHECK, VERIFY3D, and ERRAT was used to assess the reliability of the 3D model. IMPACT package from Schrödinger was used to generate abinding site for calcium ion which is essential for functioning of protein. Energy minimization for the modelled structures was performed usingIMPACT module of Schrodinger. Subsequently, wild type and mutated models of TGM5 was used for performing docking studies with IVL.Results: The structures for TGM5 and IVL were modeled and energy minimized using Schrödinger suite. Conserved calcium binding domain formedby three asparagine residues (N224, N226 and N229) and alanine (A221) corresponding to TGM3 was found in TGM5 at positions 226, 229, 231,and 234. Identification of probable active site for TGM5 was predicted using SiteMap program in Schrödinger. 17 cysteine residues are present inwild type structure of TGM5 and in mutated form G113C, the probability of forming an extra disulfide increases. With the mutation occurring at113 position formation of disulfide bond between C113 and Cys306 increases manifold. This hypothesis was confirmed by the fact that root-meansquaredistance valueofenergyminimized mutatedTGM5whencomparedtonativeTGM5on aligning all561atomswasfoundtobe 0.141 indicatingachange of overallstructureof protein.Conclusion: The mutation G113C is increasing the dynamic nature of the protein to increase as the probability of the formation of disulfide bondincreases.Keywords: Skin, Acral peeling skin syndrome, Glutaminase, Involucrin, Mutation, Interaction

The Analysis and Extraction of Structure from Organizational Charts

Organizational charts, also known as org charts, are critical representations of an organization's structure and the hierarchical relationships between its components and positions. However, manually extracting information from org charts can be error-prone and time-consuming. To solve this, we present an automated and end-to-end approach that uses computer vision, deep learning, and natural language processing techniques. Additionally, we propose a metric to evaluate the completeness and hierarchical accuracy of the extracted information. This approach has the potential to improve organizational restructuring and resource utilization by providing a clear and concise representation of the organizational structure. Our study lays a foundation for further research on the topic of hierarchical chart analysis

AN ALTERNATIVE DIAGNOSTIC DESIGN FOR CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE DETECTION BASED ON CYSTATIN C

Objective: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is usually diagnosed by measuring the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and diagnostics are still inadequate at the clinical level. Most of the diagnostic kits available estimate GFR rate by determining clearance of serum creatinine using various instrumentation generally available at hospitals. Serum creatinine is considered the major marker for renal deficiency disorders. Additionally, it is also an indicator of muscle mass and dietary intake. Hence, the need for a more reliable marker for CKD arises. A low molecular weight protein cystatin C has been found to be a reliable biomarker for detection of kidney function as it is solely filtered by the glomerulus and not secreted by renal tubules.Method: The basic set up of the kit was designed using a syringe containing multi walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) conjugated protease. Casein beads were immersed in  PBS buffer in the syringe. The Glass/MWCNT/papain solid support was subsequently inserted into the syringe in such a way, that the beads came in contact with the immobilized enzyme conjugate. The inhibitory action of cystatin C against protease forms the basis for the functioning of the kitResults: Results indicated that papain while immobilization needs to be in dynamic conformation. At 37 C gave better activity as compared to protein immobilized at 4C. FTIR observations confirmed the physical adsorption on the MWCNTs. The experimentation confirmed the feasibility of using prototype for detection of cystatin C.Discussion: Papain conjugated with MWCNT indicated its temperature and pH stability. The initial design of the diagnostic kit for the detection of CKD has shown to be successful with a good detection range corresponding to stage I and II of CKD. Further testing needs to be done for the prototype using patient samples.Keywords: Chronic kidney disease, Diagnostic kit, Immobilized papain, Protease inhibitor.Â