The politics of time : 'Primitives' and the writing of history in Colonial Bengal.

Abstract Not Provided

Comparison of tremor induced by valproate and lithium in bipolar disorder using a hand steadiness tester

Background: Quantitative measurement of valproate and lithium induced tremor using hand steadiness tester and their comparison in bipolar disorder.Methods: 200 newly diagnosed patients of bipolar disorder were randomly allocated into two equal groups receiving lithium (300mg twice daily) and sodium valproate (500 mg twice daily) after they fulfilled the inclusion / exclusion criteria of the study. 87 patients from Lithium group and 93 from Valproate completed the study.  Hand Tremor was assessed quantitatively at 0, 6, 12, 18 and 24 weeks using hand steadiness tester. Anxiety level of the study subjects was assessed to be insignificant using a standardized anxiety scale.  Final data was assessed after 24 weeks by using Stat Calc and Z test. P value <0.05 was considered to be significant.Results: No significant difference was found in terms of the development and transition of tremor induced by valproate and lithium (p=0.22).  However more men developed tremor with lithium when compared with females (p<0.05) and the mean age of patients who developed tremor appeared to be significantly higher in lithium group (54.7±3.9) than valproate (39.6±5.1).Conclusions: Tremor of hands is a common side effect of lithium and valproate treatment. Timely, objective assessment of onset and extent of tremor has always remained a challenge to the clinicians. Hand Steadiness tester is a simple, portable, inexpensive, non-invasive instrument that can be used to ascertain the development and transition of tremor in a quantitative manner. This would guide the clinicians as when to intervene for better management of such tremors

"The fruits of independence": Satyajit Ray, Indian nationhood and the spectre of empire

Challenging the longstanding consensus that Satyajit Ray's work is largely free of ideological concerns and notable only for its humanistic richness, this article shows with reference to representations of British colonialism and Indian nationhood that Ray's films and stories are marked deeply and consistently by a distinctively Bengali variety of liberalism. Drawn from an ongoing biographical project, it commences with an overview of the nationalist milieu in which Ray grew up and emphasizes the preoccupation with colonialism and nationalism that marked his earliest unfilmed scripts. It then shows with case studies of Kanchanjangha (1962), Charulata (1964), First Class Kamra (First-Class Compartment, 1981), Pratidwandi (The Adversary, 1970), Shatranj ke Khilari (The Chess Players, 1977), Agantuk (The Stranger, 1991) and Robertsoner Ruby (Robertson's Ruby, 1992) how Ray's mature work continued to combine a strongly anti-colonial viewpoint with a shifting perspective on Indian nationhood and an unequivocal commitment to cultural cosmopolitanism. Analysing how Ray articulated his ideological positions through the quintessentially liberal device of complexly staged debates that were apparently free, but in fact closed by the scenarist/director on ideologically specific notes, this article concludes that Ray's reputation as an all-forgiving, ‘everybody-has-his-reasons’ humanist is based on simplistic or even tendentious readings of his work

Identification of New Molecular Entities (NMEs) as Potential Leads against Tuberculosis from Open Source Compound Repository.

The purpose of this study was to provide a number of diverse and promising early-lead compounds that will feed into the drug discovery pipeline for developing new antitubercular agents. The results from the phenotypic screening of the open-source compound library against Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium bovis (BCG) with hit validation against M. tuberculosis (H37Rv) have identified novel potent hit compounds. To determine their druglikeness, a systematic analysis of physicochemical properties of the hit compounds has been performed using cheminformatics tools. The hit molecules were analysed by clustering based on their chemical finger prints and structural similarity determining their chemical diversity. The hit compound library is also filtered for druglikeness based on the physicochemical descriptors following Lipinski filters. The robust filtration of hits followed by secondary screening against BCG, H37Rv and cytotoxicity evaluation has identified 12 compounds with potential against H37Rv (MIC range 0.4 to 12.5 μM). Furthermore in cytotoxicity assays, 12 compounds displayed low cytotoxicity against liver and lung cells providing high therapeutic index > 50. To avoid any variations in activity due to the route of chemical synthesis, the hit compounds were re synthesized independently and confirmed for their potential against H37Rv. Taken together, the hits reported here provides copious potential starting points for generation of new leads eventually adds to drug discovery pipeline against tuberculosis

The hit compounds were analyzed by Cytoscape and Chemmine for physicochemical parameters.

<p>Filtering compounds based Lipinski rule of five druglikeness (A) Molwt cutoff, (B) alogP (C) Hydrogen bond donors and (D) Hydrogen bond acceptors.</p

Complete analysis of data from screening for antitubercular activity and physico chemical properties of the hit compounds.

<p>Rifampicin and Isoniazid were taken as controls. MIC values for controls against <i>M</i>. <i>smegmatis</i> are Rif-2.43±0.02μM and Inh-11.03±0.05 μM and <i>H37Rv</i> are Rif-0.08±0.01μM and Inh-0.22±0.3 μM.</p

To improve the predictions of druglikeness other filters have been added to the analysis.

<p>The list of identified hit compounds have been filtered based on Veber Rules (A) PSA and (B) Number of rotatable Bonds.</p