Arthavaan Volume 5

Banking is the backbone of economic development in India. The growth of banking is the most reliable source of self-sufficiency. The private banks and foreign banks enhances the dependency on promoters and foreign country respectively but public sector banks are the most dependable as far as self-sufficiency is concerned. Unlike the other two types, PSBs have dual objective ofprofitability and maintaining liquidity. Also, PSBs are the main source of priority sector lending in India. PSBs accept savings from household sector and channelise these deposits into loans and advances and provide it to industries (short-term, medium-term, and long-term loans), household sector (e.g. Housing loans) and also, invest in other industries and companies. It is clear that PSBs leads to economic development by promoting self-sufficiency through mobilising deposits into loans and advances. In banking economics, the market structure is measured in terms of deposits plus advances. The structure of banking market refers to the study of nature of banking. Hence, market structure is defined in terms of nature of the market which could be competitive or monopolistic. A monopolistic market restricts the market size whereas a competitive market leads to the expansion of the market. Using the Structure-Conduct- Performance Approach, we attempt to analyse various aspects related to structure of PSBs. In the industrial economics, market structure can be studied through three elements namely, product differentiation, marketconcentration, and advertisement expenditure. In the present paper, our objective is to analyse the market development of PSBs which are main source of self-sufficiency. We want to examine the nature of market structure to see whether it is a growing market; to see whether there is competition in the market in terms of rivalry. Here, market share is measured in terms of size which has been taken as the sum of deposit and advances because these are two core banking activities which defines banking business. Product differentiation is measured as the non-interest income in proportion to total income but advertising expense is taken in absolute terms (as a structure variable) because if it is taken in proportion to total operational expenditure, then it becomes a conduct variable because in that case it would show changes in one variable correspond to the change in the conduct of banks. We have used Herfindahl’s measure of concentration to measure competition in the public sector banking industry. In order to capture inter-bank competition and rivalry, all public sector banks are divided into two groups; Nationalized group and the SBI group. Murthy’s Index of Rank Dominance is used to express a degree of dominance of an ordinal measure such as rank. The Relative Index of Rank Dominance is used to establish the close rivalry that existed amongst PSBs. Semi-growth log equations are used for analysing the trends in market share, diversification, and advertising expenses. We have used growth rates to examine the growth in size is not homogenous across strategic groups in PSBs. In one of research paper (Sonia, 2017), the evolution of strategic groups was examined and found that there are strategic groups amongst public sector banks in India. So, here in this paper, PSBs are examined in terms of strategic groups. It is encouraging to see that the overall impact of liberalization has resulted in growth of size of banks; healthy rivalry and competition. The growth rate of market size has been statistically significant in both SBI group, Nationalized Banks group. The Murthy’s Index of Rank Dominance has given exciting results. SBI has been on first place in each year. While the relative index of rank dominance of other top four banks is very close to that of state bank of India. The Relative Index of Rank Dominance shows close rivalry amongst four other banks (Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and Canara Bank). Also, there is no major change in the relative index of remaining 20 banks. The overall result shows that there is competition within the public sector banks in terms of strategic groups

Evolutionary questions raised by cellular slime mould development

The cellular slime moulds (CSMs) are amoeboid organisms whose life cycle can be viewed in two ways. Firstly, because free-living amoebae come together to build bodies, they are ideal models for studying multicellular development in terms of the properties of single cells. Secondly, coming together and participating in an integrated unit implies social behaviour. Consequently differentiation (especially in the advanced CSMs) can be seen as a form of division of labour in which only some amoebae get to transmit their genes to the next generation. Viewed thus, their life cycle is ideally suited for studying the evolutionary basis of cooperation with some members of the cooperating group exhibiting altruistic behviour. The present review takes the second approach. We examine alternative explanations for social behaviour (i.e., multicellular development) based on individual-level and group (including kin-group) selection. Non-clonal fruiting bodies are likely to be common in nature; we show a case with at least nine genotypes. The CSMs display both individual and group-level adaptations and both levels of selection operate in their appropriate contexts. The review ends with questions for the future and indicates how studies of CSM development might help to explain the evolution of altruism in this group

Social behaviour in genetically heterogeneous groups of Dictyostelium giganteum

The Dictyostelid or cellular slime moulds (CSMs) are soil amoebae with an asexual life cycle involving social behaviour and division of labour. The most obvious distinction is between 'germ line' or pre-spore cells, which survive, and 'somatic' or pre-stalk cells, which eventually die. A plausible hypothesis to explain the apparent altruism of pre-stalk cells is that it is directed at clonal relatives. We have tested this hypothesis by comparing indices of altruistic behaviour between clonal and chimeric (genetically heterogeneous) social groups. The groups were generated by mixing amoebae belonging to distinguishable strains of Dictyostelium giganteum. The amoebae of one strain do not aggregate at all when mixed with any of three other strains and aggregate poorly with a fourth. Among the latter, co-aggregation occurs but is followed by varying extents of sorting out. At times, two strains form separate fruiting bodies; in other cases, they remain together but are clustered in clonal groups within a single chimeric structure. Our expectation was that the allocation of cells to the stalk pathway would be higher, and to the spore pathway lower, in clonal social groups than in chimeras. The expectation was not always fulfilled. In addition, three strains could be arrayed in a linear rank order in terms of the relative efficiencies of spore-formation in binary mixtures; but when all three were mixed, they were equally efficient. More than overall genetic similarity, cell fate in a chimera seems to result from complex non-linear interactions based on epigenetic differences

Genetic heterogeneity in wild isolates of cellular slime mold social groups

This study addresses the issues of spatial distribution, dispersal, and genetic heterogeneity in social groups of the cellular slime molds (CSMs). The CSMs are soil amoebae with an unusual life cycle that consists of alternating solitary and social phases. Because the social phase involves division of labor with what appears to be an extreme form of "altruism", the CSMs raise interesting evolutionary questions regarding the origin and maintenance of sociality. Knowledge of the genetic structure of social groups in the wild is necessary for answering these questions. We confirm that CSMs are widespread in undisturbed forest soil from South India. They are dispersed over long distances via the dung of a variety of large mammals. Consistent with this mode of dispersal, most social groups in the two species examined for detailed study, Dictyostelium giganteum and Dictyostelium purpureum, are multi-clonal

Doctor YouTube’s Opinion on Seasonal Influenza: A Critical Appraisal of the Information Available to Patients

Background: Seasonal influenza is a respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus. During the 2017–2018 flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted approximately 959,000 hospitalizations and 79,400 deaths from influenza. We sought to evaluate the educational quality of informational videos pertaining to seasonal influenza on the popular social media forum, YouTube. Methods: Using the keywords “seasonal influenza,” all videos from 28 January to 5 February 2017 were included and analyzed for characteristics, source, and content. The source was further classified as healthcare provider, alternative-medicine provider, the patient and/or their parents, company, media, or professional society. Videos about other categories of influenza (e.g. swine or Spanish) or in foreign languages were excluded. A total of 10 blinded reviewers scored each video independently. Results: Overall, 300 videos were analyzed, with a median of 341.50 views, 1.00 likes, 0 dislikes, and 0 comments. Based on the average scores of videos by source, there was statistically significant difference in the average score among videos by video source (p \u3c 0.01). Healthcare provider videos had the highest mean scores whereas alternative medicine provider videos had the lowest. Conclusions: Although the aforementioned video sources scored higher than others, these videos did not fulfill our criteria as far as educating patients thoroughly. Our data also suggest alternative medicine and patient source videos were misleading for patients. Clinical implications: Although videos by healthcare providers were a better source of information, videos on seasonal influenza were shown to be poor sources of valid healthcare information. This study reiterates the need for higher-quality educational videos on seasonal influenza by the medical community

Fabrication of Paper-Templated Structures of Noble Metals

This manuscript describes a simple and rapid method for fabricating freestanding structures composed primarily (>94% w/w, and 55–80 at%) of noble metals (e.g., gold, silver, platinum, etc.) and having physical morphologies that resemble paper, thread, or fabric. In this method, templates (i.e., pieces of paper, or cotton fabric) are loaded with aqueous solutions of salts of noble metals, and then the cellulosic component is burned off in a furnace held at high temperatures (i.e., from 550 °C to 800 °C, depending on the procedure, in air). Even though the environment in a furnace is ostensibly oxidizing (e.g., hot air), the metal ions are reduced to elemental metal and form paper-template or fabric-templated structures that have morphologies similar to that of the material from which they were derived (i.e., paper or fabric). Paper template structures are fibrous, permeable to gases and liquids, electrically conductive, and in some cases (e.g., paper templated gold and paper template platinum structures), their surfaces are electroactive. The surface areas of paper-templated structures are more than 20 times higher than their projected areas. Paper-templated structures thus have properties that make them potentially useful in catalysis, sensing, and electroanalysis.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

The Multiscenario Multienvironment BioSecure Multimodal Database (BMDB)

A new multimodal biometric database designed and acquired within the framework of the European BioSecure Network of Excellence is presented. It is comprised of more than 600 individuals acquired simultaneously in three scenarios: 1) over the Internet, 2) in an office environment with desktop PC, and 3) in indoor/outdoor environments with mobile portable hardware. The three scenarios include a common part of audio/video data. Also, signature and fingerprint data have been acquired both with desktop PC and mobile portable hardware. Additionally, hand and iris data were acquired in the second scenario using desktop PC. Acquisition has been conducted by 11 European institutions. Additional features of the BioSecure Multimodal Database (BMDB) are: two acquisition sessions, several sensors in certain modalities, balanced gender and age distributions, multimodal realistic scenarios with simple and quick tasks per modality, cross-European diversity, availability of demographic data, and compatibility with other multimodal databases. The novel acquisition conditions of the BMDB allow us to perform new challenging research and evaluation of either monomodal or multimodal biometric systems, as in the recent BioSecure Multimodal Evaluation campaign. A description of this campaign including baseline results of individual modalities from the new database is also given. The database is expected to be available for research purposes through the BioSecure Association during 2008Comment: Published at IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence journa

HLA-DQA1*05 carriage associated with development of anti-drug antibodies to infliximab and adalimumab in patients with Crohn's Disease

Anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapies are the most widely used biologic drugs for treating immune-mediated diseases, but repeated administration can induce the formation of anti-drug antibodies. The ability to identify patients at increased risk for development of anti-drug antibodies would facilitate selection of therapy and use of preventative strategies.This article is freely available via Open Access. Click on Publisher URL to access the full-text

LRRK2 Biology from structure to dysfunction: research progresses, but the themes remain the same

Since the discovery of leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) as a protein that is likely central to the aetiology of Parkinson's disease, a considerable amount of work has gone into uncovering its basic cellular function. This effort has led to the implication of LRRK2 in a bewildering range of cell biological processes and pathways, and probable roles in a number of seemingly unrelated medical conditions. In this review we summarise current knowledge of the basic biochemistry and cellular function of LRRK2. Topics covered include the identification of phosphorylation substrates of LRRK2 kinase activity, in particular Rab proteins, and advances in understanding the activation of LRRK2 kinase activity via dimerisation and association with membranes, especially via interaction with Rab29. We also discuss biochemical studies that shed light on the complex LRRK2 GTPase activity, evidence of roles for LRRK2 in a range of cell signalling pathways that are likely cell type specific, and studies linking LRRK2 to the cell biology of organelles. The latter includes the involvement of LRRK2 in autophagy, endocytosis, and processes at the trans-Golgi network, the endoplasmic reticulum and also key microtubule-based cellular structures. We further propose a mechanism linking LRRK2 dimerisation, GTPase function and membrane recruitment with LRRK2 kinase activation by Rab29. Together these data paint a picture of a research field that in many ways is moving forward with great momentum, but in other ways has not changed fundamentally. Many key advances have been made, but very often they seem to lead back to the same places