On Tariff, Quality Choice and Innovation in a Vertically Differentiated Monopoly with Discrete Preferences

In a vertically differentiated monopolistic framework with discrete preferences we examine how protecting the low-quality segment raises the incentive for quality innovation. We show how the monopolist facing competitive imports, might fail to exert its complete monopoly power even if there is prohibitive tariff on both the high and low quality segment of the market. On the other hand, given non prohibitive tariff on the high quality segment, the potential gain for the monopolist exhausts at a level much below the prohibitive low-quality tariff level. Also a sufficiently low tariff on the high quality product can force the monopolist to produce the first best qualities irrespective of the tariff level on the low quality productProtection; Quality Innovation; Discrete Types; Monopoly

Relevance of Neighbouring Rights in India in the Context of the 2019 European Union Directive

Neighbouring rights, which form a subset of copyrights, are those subsidiary, yet parallel, rights that are accrued to a specific class of people that comprises not the actual authors but the neighbours to the authors. The class includes performers, broadcasters, producers and organizers, etc., and in some countries, makers of databases. Of late, as per European Union (EU) Directive No. 2019/790 dated 17th April 2019, the press publishers have also been included in the class. The primary objective of this paper is to revisit neighbouring rights in India in the context of the impugned provisions of the EU Directive on the neighbouring rights of press publishers. The paper tries to know whether it is a ripe time to extend such neighbouring rights to press publishers in India. To reach a logical conclusion, the paper reviews the existing literature on neighbouring rights jurisprudence in India in reference to the Copyright Act, 1957. It also assesses the international instruments governing neighbouring rights, especially the Rome Convention. Last but not the least, it critically reviews the impugned provisions of the 2019 Directive. The paper employs analytical and descriptive methods to testify facts and theoretical frameworks governing the subject

Relevance of Neighbouring Rights in India in the Context of the 2019 European Union Directive

39-47Neighbouring rights, which form a subset of copyrights, are those subsidiary, yet parallel, rights that are accrued to a specific class of people that comprises not the actual authors but the neighbours to the authors. The class includes performers, broadcasters, producers and organizers, etc., and in some countries, makers of databases. Of late, as per European Union (EU) Directive No. 2019/790 dated 17th April 2019, the press publishers have also been included in the class. The primary objective of this paper is to revisit neighbouring rights in India in the context of the impugned provisions of the EU Directive on the neighbouring rights of press publishers. The paper tries to know whether it is a ripe time to extend such neighbouring rights to press publishers in India. To reach a logical conclusion, the paper reviews the existing literature on neighbouring rights jurisprudence in India in reference to the Copyright Act, 1957. It also assesses the international instruments governing neighbouring rights, especially the Rome Convention. Last but not the least, it critically reviews the impugned provisions of the 2019 Directive. The paper employs analytical and descriptive methods to testify facts and theoretical frameworks governing the subject

Construction of shuttle vectors for cloning in Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli

Starting from a naturally occurring cryptic plasmid pVC540 of Vibrio cholerae non-OI. strain 1095, a number of plasmid vectors have been constructed for cloning genes inVibrio cholerae by introducing antibiotic resistance markers containing a set of unique cloning sites. The constructs pVC810 and pVE920 have the origins of both Vibrio cholerae and Escherichia coli replicons and are stable in both organisms in the absence of selective pressure. These plasmids can serve as shuttle vectors between Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholerae. The plasmid vectors reported here along with the demonstration of transformation in Vibrio cholerae by plasmid DNA will facilitate genetic analysis of this important human pathogen

Study on elastic-plastic component in indentation fatigue of sodalime glass

Fracture mechanics studies on glass by indentation has become predominant in recent times. Interest in it has become more prominent due to a large application of such materials in areas of engineering applications encountering fluctuating stresses induced thermally, mechanically or physically. However, glass subjected to repeated indentation at a point prior to crack initiation with subcritical loads phenomenological to metal fatigue has not been systematically investigated. Repeated indentation at a single point with different subcritical loads (0.1N, 0.15N, 0.25N, 0.50N, 1.0N) was performed till radial cracks occurred. The length of the diagonal was measured after each indentation, which was found to increase with indentation cycle eventually leading to crack initiation. This observation was analysed considering the elastic plastic component and the residual stress developed during each cycle. A mathematical model has been postulated to correlate the contribution of cumulative residual stress for crack initiation

Nanotechnology platforms in Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) remains a serious concern due to its effects on the quality of life of patients and its socioeconomic burden to society. Present day management of PD has limitations in both diagnosis and treatment. Nanotechnology may provide smart solutions to this problem. The present review highlights the recent advancements in the development of nanotechnology platforms for PD. The review focuses on the use of such platforms in diagnostics, treatments, deep brain stimulation, neurosurgery and other modalities of management and the role of nanotechnology in each of these fields. The review also sheds light on the translation of technologies from labs to clinics and the essential advantages as well as concerns that accompany the translation

Improved thermal properties of borosilicate glass composite containing single walled carbon nanotube bundles

A single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) incorporated borosilicate glass composite was fabricated by a melt quench technique. The thermal diffusivity, specific heat and the thermal conductivity of the base glass and the composite were determined together with their temperature profile. Enhancement of the diffusivity and the conductivity in the composite was found compared to that of the base glass. The interfacial thermal resistance (R-k) plays a decisive role in the thermal transport properties of the composite. Furthermore, the effect of phonons was discussed to substantiate the transport mechanism and the temperature profile of different thermal parameters

CDH11 inhibits proliferation and invasion in head and neck cancer

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135974/1/jop12471_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135974/2/jop12471.pd

An observational study comparing and non-surgical treatment with surgical treatment for chronic anal fissures

Background: Chronic anal fissure is a common benign anorectal condition that causes significant morbidity. Symptoms consist primarily of pain and bleeding during defecation. Fissures are predominantly located in the posterior midline, but 25% of women and 8% of men have anterior fissures. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study is to determine the outcome of various nonsurgical therapy for chronic anal fissure and comparison with the outcome of surgical treatment. Materials and Methods: This study was a non-randomized and observational study. All patients referred to the department of general surgery between December 2012 and November 2014 for a chronic anal fissure were included in the study, above the age of 12 years, and diagnosed to have anal fissure (Both Acute and Chronic) were included in the study. Results: Seventy-nine patients (91.9%) were having symptoms of pain; this pain was persistent for hours after defecation in 67 (78%) patients. Seventy-one (82.6%) patients complained of at least one episode of bleeding per Anum, other symptoms were perianal lump (10.5%), perianal itching (23.3%), and perianal discharge (30.2%). The examination findings of these patients revealed that 81 patients (94%) had developed sentinelpiles subsequently and anal fissure with visible fibers of underlying muscle were seen in 9 (10.5%) patients. Conclusion: Chronic anal fissures can be simply and effectively treated medically without the risk of incontinence associated with sphincterotomy. Topical nifedipine and botulinum toxin injections are an excellent combination, associated with a low recurrence rate and minimal side effects

Protein Evolution via Amino Acid and Codon Elimination

BACKGROUND: Global residue-specific amino acid mutagenesis can provide important biological insight and generate proteins with altered properties, but at the risk of protein misfolding. Further, targeted libraries are usually restricted to a handful of amino acids because there is an exponential correlation between the number of residues randomized and the size of the resulting ensemble. Using GFP as the model protein, we present a strategy, termed protein evolution via amino acid and codon elimination, through which simplified, native-like polypeptides encoded by a reduced genetic code were obtained via screening of reduced-size ensembles. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The strategy involves combining a sequential mutagenesis scheme to reduce library size with structurally stabilizing mutations, chaperone complementation, and reduced temperature of gene expression. In six steps, we eliminated a common buried residue, Phe, from the green fluorescent protein (GFP), while retaining activity. A GFP variant containing 11 Phe residues was used as starting scaffold to generate 10 separate variants in which each Phe was replaced individually (in one construct two adjacent Phe residues were changed simultaneously), while retaining varying levels of activity. Combination of these substitutions to generate a Phe-free variant of GFP abolished fluorescence. Combinatorial re-introduction of five Phe residues, based on the activities of the respective single amino acid replacements, was sufficient to restore GFP activity. Successive rounds of mutagenesis generated active GFP variants containing, three, two, and zero Phe residues. These GFPs all displayed progenitor-like fluorescence spectra, temperature-sensitive folding, a reduced structural stability and, for the least stable variants, a reduced steady state abundance. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results provide strategies for the design of novel GFP reporters. The described approach offers a means to enable engineering of active proteins that lack certain amino acids, a key step towards expanding the functional repertoire of uniquely labeled proteins in synthetic biology