Linguistic Experiments in Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children

The popularity of Salman Rushdie's novel 'Midnight’s Children' (1981) rests on two things: the innovative use of English as a language, and the fantastic representation of history. While Rushdie resorts to the use of ‘magic realism’ to oppose the Euro-centrism of master discourses, the innovativeness of Rushdie’s English is prompted by a desire to capture the spirit of Indian culture with all its multiplicity and diversity. As a linguistic experimentalist, Rushdie attempts to destroy ‘the natural rhythms of the English language’ and to dislocate ‘the English and let other things into it’. Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children best illustrates his strategy of ‘Indianising, revitalising and decolonising the English language’. Here in this paper, I shall try to highlight the linguistic innovations of Salman Rushdie in his Midnight’s Children

Un tiempo de oscuridad: El proyecto anticolonial de Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray’s films are enriched with ideological concerns and engage with the issues of colonialism and the crisis of nationhood. His post 1970 films present an artist’s anguished response to the betrayal of the Nehruvian dream and to the anachronism of his own cherished values. It was also in this period that Ray turned to India’s colonial past and critiqued the dynamics of power relations. This essay studies how Shatranj ke Khilari (The Chess Players, 1980) assesses the reasons for colonization of India and its culture by the Britishers and how, in Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder, 1973), he criticized the Raj, the mercenaries and the complexities in Indian society where he denounces the Bengal Famine of former times.Las películas de Satyajit Ray muestran su perfil ideológico e interpelan a las temáticas del colonialismo y la crisis de nacionalidad. Las películas que dirigió después de 1970 muestran la respuesta ansiosa que suponía la traición a los valores de Nehru y el anacronismo de los valores que Ray consideraba necesarios. En este período Ray también investigó el pasado colonial de India y denunció la dinámica de las relaciones de poder que existieron. Este ensayo estudia cómo Shatranj ke Khilari (Los jugadores de ajedrez, 1980) evalúa las razones culturales por las que India fue colonizada por Reino Unido y, en Ashani Sanket (Trueno distante, 1973), critica el Raj, los que cometieron crímenes despiadados y las complejidades de la sociedad india de la época, arremetiendo especialmente contra las condiciones que desencadenaros la Hambruna en Bengala

Common variants of FTO are associated with childhood obesity in a cross-sectional study of 3,126 urban Indian children

Background: FTO variants are robustly associated with obesity and related traits in many population and shown to have variable impact during life course. Although studies have shown association of FTO variants with adiposity in adult Indian, its association in Indian children is yet to be confirmed. Methods: Here we examined association of FTO variants (rs9939609 and rs8050136) with obesity and related anthropometric and biochemical traits in 3,126 Indian children (aged 11–17 years) including 2,230 normal-weight and 896 over-weight/obese children. We also compared effects observed in the present study with that observed in previous studies on South Asian adults and children of other ethnic groups. Results: The variant rs9939609 showed significant association with risk of obesity [OR = 1.21, P = 2.5×10−3] and its measures BMI, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference [β range = 0.11 to 0.14 Z-score units; P range = 1.3×10−4 to 1.6×10−7] in children. The observed effect sizes in Indian children were similar to those reported for European children. Variant rs9939609 explained 0.88% of BMI variance in Indian children. The effect sizes of rs9939609 on BMI and WC were ∼2 fold higher in children than adults. Interestingly rs9939609 was also associated with serum levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) [β = 0.10 Z-score, P = 5.8×10−3]. The other variant rs8050136 was in strong linkage disequilibrium with rs9939609 (r2 = 0.97) and provided similar association results. Conclusion: The study provides first report of association of FTO variants with obesity and related anthropometric traits in Indian children with higher impact in children compared to adults. We also demonstrated association of FTO variant with serum levels of TSH, indicating putative influence of FTO in hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis

Vegetable Cultivation under Hydroponics in Himalayas : Challenges and Opportunities

Defence Institute of Bio-Energy Research, Haldwani has successfully developed a hydroponics system by clubbing the soil less cultivation with rain water harvesting technology. The institute has also developed a suitable nutrient composition suitable for wide range of vegetables. Among the various varieties/hybrids grown in hydroponics, cucumber line PC 4C-8 exhibited the maximum fruit yield (448.3 q/ha). Among the various tomato hybrids, Avinash-2 exhibited highest yield (1052 q/ha) and number of fruits (154 per sq m) whereas TSS, total sugars, crude protein and minerals content were the maximum in tomato hybrid DARL-304. Interestingly, hydroponics system prolonged the harvesting period by 45 days in tomato. Plant population density of 6 plants/m2 was found optimum with the highest fruit yield in tomato and cucumber. Tomato hybrid DARL-304 exhibited higher fruit yield (6.5 kg/plant). Hydroponics system have been found successful in Auli (9000’ MSL), Joshimath with fruit yield of 2.25 kg/plant to 3.79 kg/plant in tomato. The yield was higher in rain water as comparison to river water. The article deals with the hydroponics technology in detail vis-à-vis efforts made at DIBER for standardization of hydroponics technology. It is envisaged that experience gained in successful cultivation of various crops in hydroponics using single nutrient solution at various altitudes through research stations of the institute

Common Variants of Homocysteine Metabolism Pathway Genes and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Related Traits in Indians

Hyperhomocysteinemia, a risk factor for cardiovascular disorder, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, is prevalent among Indians who are at high risk of these metabolic disorders. We evaluated association of common variants of genes involved in homocysteine metabolism or its levels with type 2 diabetes, obesity, and related traits in North Indians. We genotyped 90 variants in initial phase (2.115 subjects) and replicated top signals in an independent sample set (2.085 subjects). The variant MTHFR-rs1801133 was the top signal for association with type 2 diabetes (OR = 0.78 (95%  CI = 0.67–0.92), P = 0.003) and was also associated with 2 h postload plasma glucose (P = 0.04), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.004), and total cholesterol (P = 0.01) in control subjects. These associations were neither replicated nor significant after meta-analysis. Studies involving a larger study population and different ethnic groups are required before ruling out the role of these important candidate genes in type 2 diabetes, obesity, and related traits

Green Route for Efficient Synthesis of Novel Amino Acid Schiff Bases as Potent Antibacterial and Antifungal Agents and Evaluation of Cytotoxic Effects

Green chemical one-pot multicomponent condensation reaction of substituted 1H-indole-2,3-diones (1), various amino acids (2), and thiosemicarbazide (3) is found to be catalyzed by lemon juice as natural acid using water as a green solvent to give the corresponding Schiff bases (4) in good to excellent yields. This method is experimentally simple, clean, high yielding, and green, with reduced reaction times. The product is purified by simple filtration followed by washing with water and drying process. The synthesized compounds are characterized by FT-IR, 13 CNMR, and 1 HNMR spectroscopy and are screened for their antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger, Penicillium notatum, Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria brassicicola, Chaetomium orium, and Lycopodium sp. and antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus licheniformis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Micrococcus luteus, and Gram-negative bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. Compounds have also been evaluated for cytotoxic effects against human colon cancer cell line Colo205

Investigation of some trace elements in Raipur Industrial area and its surrounding, Raipur District.

The paper deals with determination of eight trace metals namely. Copper, Iron, Mangnese, Zinc, Nickel,, Chromium  Lead and Mercury  in the ground water of different sites of Raipur Industrial area of Raipur district . All activities carried out on the ground surface have direct or indirect impact on the ground water whether associated with urban ,industrial or agricultural activities large scale concentrated source of pollutants, such as industrial discharges and sub surface injection of chemicals and hazardous are obvious source of ground water pollutants. This study was carryout in the month of during summer 2013. The samples were collected from seven different source of Raipur Industrial area of Raipur. The results obtained are compared with safe limits in ppm for heavy metals laid down by BIS, WHO, ICMR, APHA

The type 1 diabetes gene TYK2 regulates beta-cell development and its responses to interferon-alpha

The TYK2 gene is associated with development of type 1 diabetes. Here the authors show that TYK2 regulates beta-cell development, but at the same time TYK2 inhibition in the islets prevents IFN alpha responses and enhances their survival against CD8(+) T-cell cytotoxicity; representing a potent therapeutic target to halt T1D progression. Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease that results in the destruction of insulin producing pancreatic beta-cells. One of the genes associated with T1D is TYK2, which encodes a Janus kinase with critical roles in type-Iota interferon (IFN-Iota) mediated intracellular signalling. To study the role of TYK2 in beta-cell development and response to IFN alpha, we generated TYK2 knockout human iPSCs and directed them into the pancreatic endocrine lineage. Here we show that loss of TYK2 compromises the emergence of endocrine precursors by regulating KRAS expression, while mature stem cell-islets (SC-islets) function is not affected. In the SC-islets, the loss or inhibition of TYK2 prevents IFN alpha-induced antigen processing and presentation, including MHC Class Iota and Class Iota Iota expression, enhancing their survival against CD8(+) T-cell cytotoxicity. These results identify an unsuspected role for TYK2 in beta-cell development and support TYK2 inhibition in adult beta-cells as a potent therapeutic target to halt T1D progression.Peer reviewe

A protective role for nitric oxide and salicylic acid for arsenite phytotoxicity in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

The authors are thankful to Director, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (CSIR-NBRI), Lucknow for the facilities and for the financial support from the network projects (CSIR-INDEPTH), New Delhi, India. APS is thankful to CSIR New Delhi, India respectively, for the award of Research Associateship. RDT is gratefully thankful to Award of Emeritus Scientist (CSIR). GD is thankful to SERB-DST, New Delhi for award of NPDF. AK is thankful to UGC for award of DSKPDF. Award of Fast Track Scientist to SM from DST is gratefully acknowledged. We are also thankful to Mr. Dilip Chakraborty for technical assistance.Peer reviewedPostprin