Zika Virus Induces Apoptosis in Retinal Pigmented Epithelial Cells

Zika virus is a single-stranded positive sense RNA virus that attracted international attention in 2015 when an epidemic broke out in Brazil. This vector borne virus is transmitted by mosquitos and is especially concerning for pregnant women because the virus can affect the development of the fetus. One known complication is the destruction of infected retinal epithelial cells. The transduction of light is interrupted due to cell death and results in blind spots. Previous research has demonstrated that palmitoleate can reduce the observed levels of apoptosis in ZIKAV infected JEG-3 cells. We have also seen the protection of retinal pigmented epithelial cells when treated with 200 uL and 100 uL of palmitoleate. In addition, 12-hour pre-treatment of palmitoleate has been shown to significantly reduce observed apoptosis. Treating for 72-96 hours post-infection has shown to protect from observed apoptosis more effectively than pre-treatments. Therefore, palmitoleate should be investigated as a possible nutritional supplement to protect the fetus of mothers in affected or high-risk areas

The life of a marginalized ransgender person (Suyambu) as focussed in the novel ‘Vaadamalli’

S. Samuthiran’s “Vaadamalli” is a novel that projects the difficulties and sufferings undergone by transgenders in this society. This world has differentiated men and women but hasn’t given recognition to transgenders. These transgenders have been suffering in society without getting proper recognition. They have been fighting to get equal rights as other genders and live normal human lives which have been denied to them by society. A particular society has even gone to the extent of ill-treating and teasing them in return for their fight for rights. These transgenders have been stamped as refugees and are people who live on the edge. If this society can recognize men and women it should give that equal recognition to these transgenders too. As we know X chromosome stands for women and Y for men. This is the scientific reality. An error in their chromosomal structures brings about these behavioral changes in them which are beyond their control and all these happenings are mere science. The transgenders fail every time they try to prove this in society. Like the character named “Suyambu” in the novel who fights for the rights of transgenders, there should be organizations who help them live a peaceful life. There are still limitations for transgenders, for instance, using a public toilet. They aren’t given jobs in all fields. To conclude, the feelings and rights of transgenders should be taken into consideration and respected. Before anyone in society accepts them, their own family should accept them to avoid criticism from society

On scheduling and simulation within a GT cell

In this research, detailed level scheduling within a GT cell has been investigated. For detailed level scheduling within a GT cell two classes of procedures named operation scheduling and job-group scheduling procedure have been identified. Both the procedures were investigated using simulation of randomly generated job sets;Six heuristic criteria were investigated under operation scheduling. Two of these were found to be better than SPT for savings in setup time and throughput time;A procedure to recognize setup similarity prior to scheduling has been developed using similarity measures and clustering techniques. Five rules were developed for sequencing the subgroups formed by clustering;The utility of job-group scheduling procedure as a scheduling technique for a future GT cell has been discussed. Also, the utility of the procedure to study MRP-GT interactions and to establish release times and due dates have been discussed;An efficient FORTRAN based software has been developed to simulate a GT cell and evaluate scheduling rules

Effect of downhill sprint training on speed of school boys

The aim of this study was to examine the downhill sprint training on the speed of school boys. Thirty healthy school boys were selected to experimental (n = 15) and control (n = 15) groups. They carried out 8 weeks downhill training. Speed was measured before and immediately after a training period. The data collected from the two groups prior to and post experimentation were statistically analyzed by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The result of the study found that due to the eight weeks of downhill training the speed of the subjects was increased

The theology of god and the gentile mission in acts

The present study aims to investigate Luke's theology of God in the accounts of the mission to the Gentiles in Acts. In Acts, God is portrayed as the cause of the mission. It is God who inaugurates and guides the Gentile mission. For Luke, God who acts is God who has fixed the times and seasons. The mission is described as part of God's times, past, present and future. It is mission by God. The Gentile mission is also mission about God. The "cause" of the mission becomes the content'. This fact is not widely recognised by studies in Luke-Acts. God' is prominent in the speeches in the Gentile mission narratives of Samaria (8: 4-25), Caesarea (10: 33- 43), Lystra (14: 8-18), Athens (17: 16-34) and Ephesus (19: 21- 41). We examine these narratives to analyse the speeches in their immediate contexts provided in the narrative itself. Except in Ac. 10, Luke's contexts contain details concerning Gentiles" belief and worship of god/goddess/gods which in Luke's view represent false notions about God. The fundamental issue in the theology of God in all these narratives is confusion of the human with the divine. That men and works of men are neither God nor manifestations of God is the essence of the theological kerygma. In Ac. 10, Peter's own wrong notion of God is corrected and his new knowledge about God leads to the conversion of the Gentiles. God who is proclaimed to the Gentiles is God who does 'mighty acts". We consider two more narratives, 12: 21-24 and 28: 1-10, in which Gentile notions of god are presented without kerygma attached to them. The former can be classified with the mission narratives since all of them function as model settings to Luke's readers, illustrating how mission ought to take place in circumstances in which similar false understandings of God are found. The latter episode is an example of Luke's positive use of Gentile notions of god as 'justice' to attest the innocence of Paul, the prisoner and missionary to Rome. In the description of the Gentile mission in Acts, Luke emerges as a theologian of God

Corporate Governance For Churches

The book explores the nature and function of the non-profit incorporated company the Church of South India Trust Association (CSITA) situated in Chennai, South India, and analyses the precarious situation the organisation finds itself in with regard to the financial and property (mis)management. This leads the author to make a major remedial proposal, namely, to lift its corporate veil to expose the true affairs of the company for reproof and restoration. Corporate Governance is defined as referring to the rules, regulations, policies and standards required for sustaining accountability, transparency and general corporate integrity. The aim of the book is to elevate the Church to a strong position with regard to corporate governance, liberating it from corporate failures and from inadequate and improper internal governance mechanism

Fetal Programming in Maternal Obesity

The project described was supported by the Nebraska Center for Prevention ofObesity Diseases, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Grant(P20GM104320 to SKN), the Nebraska Agricultural Experimental Station with fundingfrom the Hatch Act (Accession Number 1014526 to SKN) through the United StatesDepartment of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA), theNebraska Tobacco Settlement Biomedical Research Development Funds and theUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln. The contents of this manuscript are solely theresponsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of theNational Institutes of Health

Protective Role of Palmitoleate against Zika Virus-Induced Apoptosis in Placental Trophoblasts

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in pregnant women causes congenital Zika syndrome which involves birth defects such as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), retinal defects and microcephaly in the fetus. ZIKV infection results in placental pathology which plays a crucial role in disease transmission from mother to fetus. Currently, there is no Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved vaccine or therapeutic drug against ZIKV. In this thesis, we have elucidated the cell signaling pathways connected to ZIKV-induced apoptosis in trophoblasts and also the protective effect of palmitoleate against ZIKV-induced apoptosis. First, we demonstrated the molecular mechanism behind ZIKV-induced apoptosis using an in vitro model with JEG-3, JAR and HTR-8 cells. We found that persistent endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress) causes activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), a stress kinase that leads to trophoblast apoptosis. Next, we studied the protective role of the nutrient compound palmitoleate, an omega-7 monounsaturated fatty acid, in ZIKV infected trophoblasts. Palmitoleate has been shown to have lipokine activity and significant positive effects on metabolism. Palmitoleate treatment post-infection showed a significant decrease in the percentage of apoptotic nuclei and caspase 3/7 activity when compared to ZIKV-infected cells without palmitoleate treatment. Moreover, quantification of viral RNA revealed that there was a notable decrease in viral load in palmitoleate-treated cells. To substantiate the protective role of palmitoleate against ZIKV-induced apoptosis, we treated trophoblasts with palmitate, a 16-carbon saturated fatty acid. Interestingly, we observed that palmitate did not show any protection against ZIKV-induced ER stress and apoptosis. In contrast, palmitoleate treatment enhanced survivability coupled with a non-significant reduction in plaque-forming units/mL of cell culture supernatant. Further, we observed high lipid droplet accumulation along with a significant reduction in IL-1β expression with palmitoleate treatment in infected cells. In conclusion, palmitoleate treatment is protective against ZIKV-induced ER stress and apoptosis in trophoblasts. Palmitoleate can be used as a nutrient compound to prevent placental pathology in ZIKV infected pregnant women and adverse birth defects in the fetus; nevertheless, further studies are necessary. Adviser: Sathish Kumar Nataraja

Speaking Truth to Power

The demand for a better power control and accountability in the Indian Christian Churches underlines the issue of transforming traditional leadership models. The Church of South India (CSI) is a unique church since it is the pioneer of a united and uniting church since 1947, uniting the Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregationalist denominations of the missionary churches. With over 4 million members, it is a powerful church even though Christians in India represent a small minority. The process of a constitutional reform is currently debated to change the character of this church from a united to an episcopal church with an accumulation of power in the role of the moderator. The controversy about this reform is linked to ongoing criticisms about corruption in many of the CSI-related institutions. On this background, church governance becomes a hot issue of power control and accountability, and above all, of the faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the credibility of the community of believers

Flow of a Thermoviscous Fluid through an Annular Tube with Constriction

The flow of thermoviscous fluid within the annulus of circular cylinders with a localconstriction at the outer wall is investigated analytically, assuming that the constriction is non-symmetric wrt the radial distance.  Analytical solutions for velocity and temperature fields havebeen obtained. The effect of the shape parameter of the constriction on velocity, temperature,Nusselt number, and flow rate are illustrated graphically and discussed