Political Economy of Tribal Development : A Case Study of Andhra Pradesh

The tribal population in the State of Andhra Pradesh, and in the country as a whole, is the most deprived and vulnerable community that faces severe economic exclusion. Although certain constitutional safeguards are provided, no significant economic, social and political mobility has taken place across this community. Contrary to Scheduled Castes and other Backward Castes who witnessed certain degrees of progress because of protective discrimination policies of the government, the Scheduled Tribes remain abysmally backward and socially excluded, still living in harsh environs. Our paper on "Political Economy of Tribal Development : A Case Study of Andhra Pradesh", delineates the situation of the Scheduled Tribes in the background of various policies of the state during the successive plan periods and its impact on their socio-economic mobility. Politically, this community is the most voiceless in the state. Their unsecured livelihood position in terms of lack of legal entitlements of the resources they use, both land and non-timber forest produce, push them into deep economic vulnerability. The paper also discusses the implications of the new act - Forest Right Act, 2006, on the livelihood security of the tribal communities and whether this act will finally lead to the inclusion of these people into the mainstream.Andhra Pradesh, India, economic exclusion, caste system, socio-economic mobility, Forest Right Act 2006

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHM FOR OPTIMIZATION PROBLEM IN MICROGRIDS

The modern heuristic techniques mainly include the application of the artificial intelligence approaches such as genetic algorithm, particle swarmoptimization algorithm, ant colony optimization, stochastic diffusion search, differential evolution, etc. The main aspect of these techniques is theirflexibility for solving the optimization problems that have different mathematical constraints. In a power system area, the competition between theelectric utilities is gradually increased due to the deregulation of the electrical markets. For this reason, the generation expansion problem presentsitself as an important issue that needs to be considered in order to achieve reasonable economic decisions.Keywords: Genetic algorithm, Particle swarm optimization, Artificial intelligence

A STUDY OF METHOD DEVELOPMENT, VALIDATION AND FORCED DEGRADATION FOR SIMULTANEOUS QUANTIFICATION OF CABOZANTINIB AND NIVOLUMAB IN BULK AND PHARMACEUTICAL DOSAGE FORM BY RP-HPLC

Objective: The present paper describes a simple, accurate, and precise reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for rapid and simultaneous quantification of cabozantinib (CZT) and nivolumab (NVM) in bulk and pharmaceutical dosage form. Methods: The chromatographic separation was achieved on Luna C18 (150 mm×4.6 mm, 3.5 μm). Mobile phase contained a mixture of 0.1% orthophosphoric acid and acetonitrile in the ratio of 50:50 v/v, flow rate 1.0 ml/min, and ultraviolet detection at 222 nm. Results: The proposed method shows a good linearity in the concentration range of 20–300 μg/ml for CZT and 5–75 μg/ml for NVM under optimized conditions. Precision and recovery study results are in between 98 and 102%. In the entire robustness conditions, percentage relative standard deviation is <2.0%. Degradation has minimum effect in stress condition and solutions are stable up to 24 h. Conclusion: This method is validated for different parameters such as precision, linearity, accuracy, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), ruggedness, robustness, and forced degradation study were determined according to the International Conference of Harmonization (ICH) Q2B guidelines. All the parameters of validation were found to be within the acceptance range of ICH guidelines. Since there is no HPLC method reported in the literature for the estimation of CZT and NVM in pharmaceutical dosage forms, there is a need to develop quantitative methods under different conditions to achieve improvement in sensitivity, selectivity, etc. The author declares the interest to develop a validation and forced degradation for simultaneous quantification of CZT and NVM

Effect of intravenous tranexamic acid on blood loss and blood transfusion in total knee replacement: a prospective, randomized study in Indian population

Background: Tranexamic acid (TXA) is antifibrinolytic drug which has the property to reduce intraoperative and postoperative bleeding. There are several studies supporting the use of tranexamic acid in total knee replacements (TKR) and few in total hip replacements. Our study was intended to establish the effects of tranexamic acid in minimizing the intra operative and post-operative blood loss in uncomplicated primary total knee replacement.Methods: This was a prospective follow up study conducted in Rajarajeshwari Medical College and Hospital Bangalore, over a period of 14 months from June 2015 to August 2016. A total number of 60 patients who underwent unilateral primary total knee replacement were included for this study. They were randomly divided into 2 groups. Group I patients infused (intravenous) with 20 mg/kg TXA before incision and 3 hours after surgery whereas no TXA was administered in Group II. Total blood loss and transfusion rate were used as outcome. Results: Mean amounts of blood loss were 578 ml in Group 1 and 946 ml in Group 2. There was a decrease in blood loss in TXA groups (p<0.001). Transfusion was required in 6 patients of Group I and 17 patients of Group II (p<0.001). No thromboembolic problem was seen in any patients.Conclusions: Since TXA decrease perioperative blood loss and lessen the need for blood transfusion significantly, without increasing thromboembolic events in TKR. We suggest using intravenous (IV) TXA in TKR.

Study of factors associated with poor glycemic control in Type -2 Diabetic patients

Diabetes mellitus is the most common chronic diseases among adults. By 2030, number will increase to 439 million with prevalence of 7.7 %. Number of deaths in adult due to diabetes is estimated to be 3.96 million per year and mortality rate of diabetes in all ages is 6.8 %, at global level. In India, 40 million have diabetes. By 2025 it is estimated to rise to 70 million. In spite of well-defined treatment for type 2 diabetes, in majority of the people, disease is poorly controlled with existing therapies. Studies like UKPDS and DCCT have proven that poor glycemic control(HbA1C>7%) is associated with increased risk for micro vascular complications. An Indian study showed that the prevalence of diabetes is high in urban India. There is a large pool of subjects with impaired glucose tolerance at a high risk of conversion to diabetes. Hence it would be interesting to identify the factors associated with poor control of diabetes

A Review on Bacteriophage Mediated Control of Phytopathogenic Bacteria for Plant Protection

Bacteriophage therapy entails the application of bacteriophage viruses for the remedy of bacterial infections, a practice that has persisted for well over a century. Despite its enduring presence, the implementation of this therapeutic approach has faced persistent challenges, even though it has garnered support for over 25 years from microbiologists and physicians who perceive it as propitious remedy in the context of the escalating threat posed by anti-microbial resistance (AMR). The underlying justifications for these ongoing challenges are intricate in nature. This article aims to delve into the impact of bacteriophages on phytopathogens in the realm of plant biology. It endeavors to elucidate how bacteriophages function as potent antimicrobial agents in the management of bacterial infections afflicting plants, highlighting their reliability in comparison to synthetic antibiotics employed to mitigate such infections. It is worth noting that synthetic antibiotics occasionally falter in their efforts to curb or eradicate disease-causing bacteria. These microorganisms often exhibit a vigorous opposition to microbicides and various antibiotic drugs. Some bacteria even display resistance to colistin, rendering them multi-drug resistant (MDR), extensively drug-resistant (XDR), or even pan-drug resistant (PDR). In the relentless battle against these formidable bacterial foes, bacteriophage therapy emerges as a beacon of hope, offering promising results in the eradication of phytopathogenic bacteria and the suppression of further bacterial infections. This innovative phage therapy represents a significant milestone in the field of microbiolog

A comparison of outcomes in ultrasonography guided versus landmark guided corticosteroid injection for the treatment of adhesive capsulitis

Background: Adhesive capsulitis is a debilitating disease in an otherwise healthy individual. Intra-articular corticosteroid injections offer a cost-effective, non-operative treatment option. However, it is currently unclear whether an ultrasound-guided injection relieves the symptoms of shoulder pain more effectively than if the injection was delivered landmark-guided. Methods: Eighty patients with adhesive capsulitis were randomized to two intervention groups - landmark guided and ultrasound (USG) guided. The functional status of the patients was documented prior to the intervention. Following allocation, the intra-articular steroid was administered either under USG guidance or following identification of the site of injection using landmarks. Follow-up was done on day 5, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks post procedure to document the functional status. Results: The difference in visual analogue score (VAS) between the two arms was found to be statistically significant in favour of the ultrasound guided technique only on day 5 and day 21. On the other hand, the difference in disability of arm, shoulder, and hand (DASH) score between the 2 arms was found to be statistically significant in favour of the ultrasound guided technique on day 5, 21, 42 and 84. Finally, in our study, both shoulder flexion and abduction on day 84 achieved a statistically significant improvement, favouring the ultrasound guided arm. Conclusions: Ultrasound guided corticosteroid injections may offer modestly better short-term functional outcome and symptom relief when compared with landmark guided corticosteroids

Relationship between morphological and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) marker based genetic distance with heterosis in hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

Identification of potential parents that produce the hybrids with superior yield is the most important step in developing hybrids to save the substantial resources. The present study was carried out to assess the morphological and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) marker based genetic diversity, to estimate mid parent heterosis and to correlate the estimated parental genetic diversity with heterosis chilli. Five CMS B - lines and 30 testers were used for morphological and AFLP marker genetic divergence analysis. 150 hybrids were synthesized through Line × Tester (5 × 30) mating design and were used to estimate the mid-parent heterosis for nine characters at two locations. 35 parents were examined for nine morphological traits and were grouped in to six clusters. These parents were also examined for eight AFLP primers combinations and were grouped into seven clusters. More than 50% of hybrids showed significant mid-parent heterosis for both green and red fruit yield plant-1. Hence, there is a much potential for development of good yielding hybrids. The positive significant correlation was found between morphological and AFLP marker distance of the parents with heterosis for plant height (r = 0.17 and 0.38), green fruit yield plant-1 (r = 0.19 and 0.25) and red fruit yield plant-1 (r = 0.20 and 0.34); however, the correlation coefficients were not strong in these traits. Genetic distance between parents was not strong enough to predict the performance of the hybrids and proved to be of no predictive value.Keywords: Correlation, molecular markers, genetic diversity, chill