Universal Experience of Female Tribulations in an Indian Milieu: A Study on Deshpande's Novels Small Remedies and Roots and Shadows

Though sexual politics is not something new but a universal experience of women, third wave feminism has acknowledged the differences like colours, ethnicities, regions, etc. and has started analysing how the experience of women is something that cannot be universalised but is different for women depending on their cultural background. This paper analyses the experience of middle class women in Indian scenario and how the gap between traditionalists and the educated middle class women in India leads to chaos and confusions in the society and how it imposes great pressure on the women to act according to the rules of the patriarchal community in the society using the selected novels of Sashi Deshpande. It also examines different forms of gender-specific discrimination targeted against women in Indian society

Cultivating Collaborative Synergy to Promote Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Justice in the Psychology Curriculum

Transforming the psychology curriculum to incorporate equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) will necessitate department-wide and coordinated efforts; however, most EDI transformations emphasize changes to individual instructors and courses. Cultivating collaborative synergy to advance EDI transformations will foster and protect the relevance and trustworthiness of psychology and respond to the numerous calls for equity and justice. Collaborative synergy involves forming a community with a common goal, learning from one another, and sharing teaching-related resources. In this paper, we present the EDI Collaborative Curricular Transformation in Psychology (EDI-CCTP) model and discuss the benefits of collaboration amongst psychology departments and programs on EDI transformations. We offer strategies for transitioning from individual to collaborative efforts, including: (1) individual preparation for collaboration, (2) establishing a community of practice, (3) EDI curriculum mapping, (4) course design and redesign, and (5) systematizing EDI through departmental values and practices. Through a department-wide coordinated approach using the EDI-CCTP model, departments and programs can expose students to EDI concepts and practices in psychology in a cohesive and scaffolded curriculum and strengthen equity and justice in our field

Community structure and spatial patterns in hard coral diversity of Agatti Island, Lakshadweep, India

Lakshadweep Island cluster is the single atoll reef formation in India, which is reported to be facing climate abnormalities since the past few decades. Scleractinian corals form the structural framework of any coral reefs and are very important in the existence of atoll reef systems. In the present study an attempt was made to investigate the hard coral diversity, live/dead coral cover, as well as health status of reef system surrounding Agatti Island in the Lakshadweep Sea, adopting the Line Intercept Transect (LIT) method. Seventy one species were recorded from the island, of which 37 were new to the reef. Acropora formosa (Dana, 1846) with a total cover of 18.3% showed maximum abundance followed by Porites lutea (14.8%) and Porites lichen (10.7%). Percentage live coral cover was recorded as fair (48.6%) and coral mortality index (0.29) indicated that the reef is in the borderline between healthy and sick state. Proper management measures should be adopted to increase the coral cover of the reef area and to prevent further destruction of the reef

Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Efficacy of Intravitreal Digoxin in Preclinical Models for Retinoblastoma

PURPOSE:To assess in vitro cytotoxic activity and antiangiogenic effect, ocular and systemic disposition, and toxicity of digoxin in rabbits after intravitreal injection as a potential candidate for retinoblastoma treatment.METHODS:A panel of two retinoblastoma and three endothelial cell types were exposed to increasing concentrations of digoxin in a conventional (72-hour exposure) and metronomic (daily exposure) treatment scheme. Cytotoxicity was defined as the digoxin concentration that killed 50% of the cells (IC50) and was assessed with a vital dye in all cell types. Induction of apoptosis and cell-cycle status were evaluated by flow cytometry after both treatment schemes. Ocular and systemic disposition after intravitreal injection as well as toxicity was assessed in rabbits. Electroretinograms (ERGs) were recorded before and after digoxin doses and histopathological examinations were performed after enucleation.RESULTS:Digoxin was cytotoxic to retinoblastoma and endothelial cells under conventional and metronomic treatment. IC50 was comparable between both schedules and induced apoptosis in all cell lines. Calculated vitreous digoxin Cmax was 8.5 μg/mL and the levels remained above the IC50 for at least 24 hours after intravitreal injection. Plasma digoxin concentration was below 0.5 ng/ml. Retinal toxicity was evident after the third intravitreal dose with considerable changes in the ERG and histologic damage to the retina.CONCLUSIONS:Digoxin has antitumor activity for retinoblastoma while exerting antiangiogenic activity in vitro at similar concentrations. Metronomic treatment showed no advantage in terms of dose for cytotoxic effect. Four biweekly injections of digoxin led to local toxicity to the retina but no systemic toxicity in rabbits.Fil: Winter, Ursula Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Buitrago, Emiliano. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Mena, Hebe Agustina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: del Sole, Maria Jose. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Fisiopatología. Laboratorio de Farmacología; ArgentinaFil: Laurent, Viviana Eunice. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Negrotto, Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Medicina Experimental. Academia Nacional de Medicina de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Francis, Jasmine. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Estados UnidosFil: Arana, Eloisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Inmunología, Genética y Metabolismo; ArgentinaFil: Sgroi, Mariana. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Croxatto, Juan Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fundación Oftalmología Argentina "J. Malbrán"; ArgentinaFil: Djaballah, Hakim. Core Facility Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Estados UnidosFil: Chantada, Guillermo Luis. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; ArgentinaFil: Abramson, David. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Estados UnidosFil: Schaiquevich, Paula Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Pediatría "Juan P. Garrahan"; Argentin

Artisanal fishing methods along the Vizhinjam Coast, Kerala

Vizhinjam Landing Centre (8º 22' 30'' N, 76º 59' 15'' E), is one of the important fish landing centres in Kerala capable where fish landings occur all over the year by employing crafts and gears according to the seasonal requirements and availability of fishes. Primarily carried out by traditional crafts and gears, fitted with outboard engines, vessels fitted with inboard engines and other modern gears are not able to operate along the coast due to patchy rocks and steep sloping continental shelf of this region. During the last decade, there was a complete transition from the wooden crafts to fibre boats which made crafts lighter and in turn enabled increase in the speeds of the fishing vessels. Even some of the catamarans which the government had given free to fishers after the 2004 Tsunami, remain at shore. Most of the traditional crafts along the coast ranged from 25 to 40 feet overall length (OAL). Two outboard engines with 9.9 HP each are used for propulsion. Fishers disclosed that after the Ockhi Cyclone in December 2017, fishing grounds haved changed and there is a conspicuous reduction in fish availability. Drift gillnet forms the major gear in fishing operation along the coast followed by mechanised hooks and line and boat seines.. The details of some of the artisanal gears and its mode of operation are given below

Mass spawning of Scleractinian corals in the Lakshadweep Archipelago

Multispecific synchronous spawning of scleractinian corals has been observed in the Lakshadweep atolls on the morning of sixth day after new moon during March. A team of CMFRI scientists of the Marine Biodiversity Division who were carrying out survey at Bengaram- Tinnakkara Island cluster witnessed this phenomenon at 10.00 am of 18th March 2013

Isolation and characterization of a novel agarolytic bacterium vibrio SP.B4-6A from coral reef ecosystem off Tutiocorin

Isolation and characterization of a novel agarolytic bacterium vibrio SP.B4-6A from coral reef ecosystem off Tutiocori

PKC-omerga and HIV-1 transcriptional regulator Tat co-exist at the LTR promoter in CD4⁺ T cells

PKCtheta is essential for the activation of CD4+ T cells. Upon TCR/CD28 stimulation, PKCtheta is phosphorylated and migrates to the immunological synapse, inducing the activation of cellular transcription factors such as NF-kB and kinases as ERK that are critical for HIV-1 replication. We previously demonstrated that PKCtheta is also necessary for HIV-1 replication but the precise mechanism is unknown. Efficient HIV-1 transcription and elongation is absolutely dependent on the synergy between NF-kB and the viral regulator Tat. Tat exerts its function by binding a RNA stem-loop structure proximal to the viral mRNA cap site termed TAR. Besides, due to its effect on cellular metabolic pathways, Tat causes profound changes in infected CD4+ T cells such as the activation of NF-kB and ERK. We hypothesized that the aberrant up-regulation of Tat-mediated activation of NF-kB and ERK occurred through PKCtheta signaling. In fact, Jurkat TetOff cells with stable and doxycycline-repressible expression of Tat (Jurkat-Tat) expressed high levels of mRNA for PKCtheta. In these cells, PKCtheta located at the plasma membrane was phosphorylated at T538 residue in undivided cells, in the absence of stimulation. Treatment with doxycycline inhibited PKCtheta phosphorylation in Jurkat-Tat, suggesting that Tat expression was directly related to the activation of PKCtheta. Both NF-kB and Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway were significantly activated in Jurkat-Tat cells, and this correlated with high transactivation of HIV-1 LTR promoter. RNA interference for PKCtheta inhibited NF-kB and ERK activity, as well as LTR-mediated transactivation even in the presence of Tat. In addition to Tat-mediated activation of PKCtheta in the cytosol, we demonstrated by sequential ChIP that Tat and PKCtheta coexisted in the same complex bound at the HIV-1 LTR promoter, specifically at the region containing TAR loop. In conclusion, PKCtheta-Tat interaction seemed to be essential for HIV-1 replication in CD4+ T cells and could be used as a therapeutic target

Hard coral diversity along southwest coast of India

Patchy growths of hard corals are found to occur off Vizhinjam and Enayam along the southwest coast of India. This study gives the result of survey conducted off Vizhinjam and Enayam for assessment of the coral cover and biodiversity following Line Intercept Transect method. A total of 13 species belonging to six genera of Scleractinians was represented in this study. The most common genus Pocillopora was represented by five species. Relative abundance values were derived for each species and they were assigned the status dominant, abundant, common, uncommon and rare. Pocillopora verucosa and P. meandrina were assigned the status ‘dominant’ in Vizhinjam and Montipora aequituberculata in Enayam. Pocillopora damicornis belonged to the category ‘abundant’ and all the other species were either of ‘common’ or ‘uncommon’ status only. Biodiversity indices such as Pielou’s Evenness Index; Shannon Diversity Index and Simpson Diversity Index were also determined for each site. The coral fauna in structure and composition was more related to Gulf of Mannar than any other reef

Diversity of coral reef fishes

Reef fish diversity associated with coral reef patches around eleven sites from Enayam to Thirumullavaram, along the south-west coast of India, was investigated by Underwater Visual Census Method. Sampling was done in all the sites and a total of 70 species belonging to 48 genera, 31 families and 3 orders were recorded in the transect from these sites. In cumulative abundance, the family Pomacentridae dominated with 49% followed by Lutjanidae (9%), Siganidae (7.4%), Chaetodontidae (6.1%), Ballistidae (5.85%), Labridae (4.5%), Acanthuridae (3.3%), Scaridae (2.7%), Caesionidae (2%) and Carangidae (1%). In line with the abundance and number, Shannon diversity indices (H’) were maximum in Muttom (3.59), followed by Enayam (3.26) and Varkala (3.12) during the post-monsoon season. During pre-monsoon, almost all sites were having high H’ values ranging from 2.38 to 3.95, except three centres. The evenness (J’) of species distribution was more in site Enayam (0.91) during pre-monsoon and in post-monsoon. Odayam recorded the highest value of J’(0.99). The Bray-Curtis similarity was in the range of 4.47 to 55.17 during the pre-monsoon and from 6.8 to 62.77 in the post-monsoon period. The dendrogram plotted for the pre-monsoon period shows that Enayam and Adimalathura formed a group with maximum similarity of 55.18, to which Muttom got linked and in post-monsoon, Muttom and Enayam formed a group with maximum similarity of 65.62, to which Vizhinjam and Adimalathura got linked. There was no significant difference in the hydrographic parameters of the surface waters in the study stations. The study revealed high coral fish density in the area indicating the need for adopting appropriate conservation measures to prevent depletion of this resource which would affect the health of the reef system