India’s new Asia-Pacific strategy: Modi acts East

In this Lowy Institute Analysis, Danielle Rajendram examines India’s Look East Policy, and argues that the Modi Government will prioritise even closer engagement with the Asia-Pacific. Key findings India’s Look East Policy has shaped its engagement with the Asia-Pacific for over two decades, and, in recent years, has been driven by an external balancing strategy against China’s influence in the Indian Ocean, as well as India’s desire for a greater global role. The BJP’s overwhelming electoral mandate will provide Prime Minister Modi with the opportunity to transform India into a serious strategic player in East and Southeast Asia. The Modi Government will pursue a greater role in the Asia-Pacific in line with India’s growing economic and strategic interests, based on practical partnerships with Japan, Vietnam, Australia, and ASEAN

Use of whole-genus genome sequence data to develop a multilocus sequence typing tool that accurately identifies Yersinia isolates to the species and subspecies levels

The genus Yersinia is a large and diverse bacterial genus consisting of human-pathogenic species, a fish-pathogenic species, and a large number of environmental species. Recently, the phylogenetic and population structure of the entire genus was elucidated through the genome sequence data of 241 strains encompassing every known species in the genus. Here we report the mining of this enormous data set to create a multilocus sequence typing-based scheme that can identify Yersinia strains to the species level to a level of resolution equal to that for whole-genome sequencing. Our assay is designed to be able to accurately subtype the important human-pathogenic species Yersinia enterocolitica to whole-genome resolution levels. We also report the validation of the scheme on 386 strains from reference laboratory collections across Europe. We propose that the scheme is an important molecular typing system to allow accurate and reproducible identification of Yersinia isolates to the species level, a process often inconsistent in nonspecialist laboratories. Additionally, our assay is the most phylogenetically informative typing scheme available for Y. enterocolitica

A Prospective Open Labelled Non Randomized Phase-II Clinical Trial of “Kadukkai Chooranam for Akkini Selathumam (Diabetic Neuropathy)

Diabetes Mellitus is one of the most prevalent and serious metabolic diseases in the world which is predicted to increase dramatically. Diabetes is frequently associated with long term complications with macrovascular and microvascular origin. Diabetic neuropathy AKKINI SELATHUMAM) is one of the most common complications of diabetes mellitus. It is the most common neuropathy; it is estimated that about 50 percent of patients with diabetes mellitus will eventually develop some form of neuropathy. The study was aimed at evaluating clinical efficacy of the herbal formulation of KADUKKAI CHOORANAM (KC) on AKKINI SELATHUMAM in patients with type-II diabetes. This study is an open labelled non randomized Phase-II clinical trial spanning 90 days. About 40 subjects of age range between 40-70 years. In all 40 diabetic patients who were under treatment were randomly sampled for the study. Socio- demographic data were collected using predesigned questionnaires. Glycated haemoglobin levels, lipid profile, HBA1-C, fasting blood sugar and other haematological investigations were estimated using standard procedures before and after treatment. Diabetic Neuropathy was defined as per Use of the leeds assessment of neuropathic symptoms and signs pain scale. The Statistical analysis was done by SPSS statistical package version 20.0. Paired 2 tailed test revealed that the fasting (P<0.0001) and postprandial blood glucose (0.0001) and HbA1c (P<0.0001), in lipid profile TC (p<0.0001), LDL (p<0.0001), HDL (<0.0001) and TGL (p<0.0001) showed significant reduction after Kadukkai chooranam intervention. The liver, renal functions along with the haematological parameters were well within the normal range. The trial drug subjected to biochemical and pharmacological studies and gave significant results also. The results KC to be beneficial for the treatment of Akkini selathumam (Diabetic Neuropathy) in type-II diabetes; further follow-up studies are warranted to confirm the safety aspects of kadukkai Chooranam use

Insertion Element IS6110 based characterisation of Nepalese tuberculosis strains into different genetic lineages

Nepal is geographically located between India and China, a region containing significant Tuberculosis (TB) and Multi-Drug Resistance (MDR-TB) burdens. However, limited information is available on the phylogenetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) in Nepal. To gain further insight into the diversity of Mtb in Nepal, consecutive clinical samples from 176 newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis patients were collected from two hospitals in Nepal. Insertion Site IS6110 Fluorescent Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (FAFLP) PCR and rpoB sequence analysis were carried out on genomic DNA extracts of cultured strains to assign them to accepted genetic lineages and identify MDR-TB. In this study, the IS6110 based characterisation showed a prevalence of 36.36% Central Asian Strain (CAS), 18.75% Beijing, 7.95 % Haarlem, 3.97% X, 2.2% each of Latin American Mediterranean (LAM), T-Uganda and T, 1.7% S and 24.4% were unassigned. Further, 3.9% of total M. tuberculosis isolates were of rifampicin resistant genotypes thus indicating that the prevalence of MDR could be higher than the country wide prevalence of MDR among new TB cases (2.2%) as reported by the national drug resistance survey carried out in 2011/2012

Bacterial swarming reduces Proteus mirabilis and Vibrio parahaemolyticus cell stiffness and increases β-lactam susceptibility

Swarmer cells of the gram-negative pathogenic bacteria Proteus mirabilis and Vibrio parahaemolyticus become long (>10-100 microns) and multinucleate during their growth and motility on polymer surfaces. We demonstrate increasing cell length is accompanied by a large increase in flexibility. Using a microfluidic assay to measure single-cell mechanics, we identified large differences in swarmer cell stiffness of (bending rigidity of P. mirabilis, 9.6 x 10^(-22) N m^2; V. parahaemolyticus, 9.7 x 10^(-23) N m^2) compared to vegetative cells (1.4 x 10^(-20) N m^2 and 3.2 x 10^(-22) N m^2, respectively). The reduction in bending rigidity (~3-15 fold) was accompanied by a decrease in the average polysaccharide strand length of the peptidoglycan layer of the cell wall from 28-30 to 19-22 disaccharides. Atomic force microscopy revealed a reduction in P. mirabilis peptidoglycan thickness from 1.5 nm (vegetative) to 1.0 nm (swarmer) and electron cryotomography indicated changes in swarmer cell wall morphology. P. mirabilis and V. parahaemolyticus swarmer cells became increasingly sensitive to osmotic pressure and susceptible to cell wall-modifying antibiotics (compared to vegetative cells)--they were ~30% more likely to die after 3 h of treatment with minimum inhibitory concentrations of the beta-lactams cephalexin and penicillin G. Long, flexible swarmer cells enables these pathogenic bacteria to form multicellular structures and promotes community motility. The adaptive cost of swarming is offset by a fitness cost in which cells are more susceptible to physical and chemical changes in their environment, thereby suggesting the development of new chemotherapies for bacteria that leverage swarming for survival

BEHAVIOURAL ANALYSIS OF PIGS WHEN PRESENTED WITH PEA-DIETS

The high dietary energy and acceptable digestible lysine content of field peas in comparison to soybean meal should allow for their incorporation into a wide range of diets. However, in part because of concerns over palatability, usage is limited in diets for swine. The objectives of this study were 1) to determine if peas reduce feed intake and if the pattern of consumption is indicative of a taste effect or post-ingestive feedback 2) to determine whether post-ingestive feedback plays a role in pigs’ aversion to peas and 3) to determine the effect of peas on the feeding behavior of pigs. Experiment 1 examined the effect of level of pea inclusion on feed consumption. Fifty mixed gender pigs (9 weeks old) were fed 5 treatment diets (basal soy diet, 20, 40, 60% peas, canola control) in a completely randomized design for 10 days. The peas were added at the expense of wheat and soy to the basal soy diet. The canola diet was required to evaluate the response to a novel diet. No dietary effects were seen as consumption levels were not different for either 20, 40 or 60% pea diets, compared to the soy basal or canola control diets (P = 0.16). Experiment 2 was designed to examine post-ingestive feedback effects of peas. Twenty mixed gender pigs (8 weeks old) were fed either a 60% pea or a 10% canola diet on alternate days for 10 days. The diets were flavored with 6 gm/kg of either orange or grape Kool-AidTM, with 10 pigs receiving peas/grape and canola/orange, and 10 receiving peas/orange and canola/grape on alternate days. Pigs were then presented with both an orange flavored and grape flavored basal diet to assess flavor preferences. The assumption is that if a diet produced negative post-ingestive feedback it would reduce feed consumption of the associated flavor during preference testing. Pigs did not exhibit a preference for either grape over orange flavor (P = 0.46). This was irrespective of which diet had previously been associated with grape flavoring, as evidenced by the similarity in feed intake between the two diets (0.88 ± 0.3 and 0.89 ± 0.2 kg for pea and canola-based diets, respectively; mean ± SD, P = 0.94). Experiment 3 was conducted to study the short term feeding behavior of grower pigs when presented with novel pea diets. Five dietary treatments which included peas from two sources and two grinds and a control soy meal diet were used. The results of the analysis of the eating behavior showed differences in the number of meals, average meal duration and average eating time per meal (P < 0.01) between pea diets and soybean meal diet. The pigs fed pea diets had shorter meals than the ones on control (12.2 vs 14.7 ± 1.04 minutes) but the meals were more frequent (12.6 vs 9.3 ± 1.25). The presence of peas affected feeding behavior but it was transitory. Moreover, the change in behavior did not affect the feed intake of the pigs. The above experiments indicate that it is possible to include high levels of peas in pig diets without affecting feed intake. In conclusion, peas used in this study did not have any palatability issues suggesting that pea inclusion in diets does not affect feed intake

Supporting Young Learners Through a Multimodal Digital Storytelling Activity

This paper presents the results of a small-scale qualitative case study that explored a tutor’s role in supporting young learners through a digital storytelling (DS) activity through Microsoft PowerPoint. The two children who participated in this study were in grade one and attended private schools in Canada. Participatory observations, field notes, interviews, the children’s narratives, and observational narratives were the primary sources of data. The children carried out a DS activity during three separate sessions for each child that involved planning the story, enacting the story, creating and editing a storyboard with cameras and computers, and lastly, celebrating the stories they produced with their family members. We found that the tutor played an important role in making the activity purposeful, authentic, and passion-led (Anderson, 2016). We also found that the tutor helped the children represent and understand meaning through an integration of modes, supported their use of technology, engaged their interest throughout the activity, and encouraged self-reflection on their narrative writing skills. Our findings point to the need for future research on how digital storytelling activities can be carried out in mainstream classroom settings, where teachers can schedule one-on-one conference sessions to support children as they become multimodal composers

Solid Waste Disposal and Management Practices at Kinniya Urban Council, Trincomalee

Solid waste disposal is not only a serious problem in the capital city of Colombo but also in other urban areas like Kinniya. Study area is facing enormous environmental problems such as a musty smell in the air and spreading of dengue diseases etc. The prime objectives of the study are to find the sources of solid waste generation, to measure the quantity, categorize the types of waste composition. To achieve these goals primary and secondary data were used. For household survey 212 families were selected from 17 Grama Niladhari divisions using stratified random sampling method and daily wastes were measured from all selected households for a period of one month. Further, 79 samples were randomly selected from commercial centers and institutions. Collected data were analyzed using mixed method. The linear regression model was applied to study the relationship between population and waste generation. The spatial maps were prepared by using Arc GIS 10.4 software. The average quantity of daily waste of study area is 27396Kg, Out of these, 67% of waste was generated by the households, 30% by commercial centers, industries and remaining others. A high positive relationship is observed between population growth and waste generation (r2=0.9769). The results of the types of waste show that about 60% of the waste is biodegradable. Plastic (9%), polythene (7%) and papers (6%), cloths (1%), glass (0.7%) and metal (0.6%) are comparatively less. Perhaps importantly about 52% of waste not collected due to inability. Neither the availability of suitable dumping sites nor proper treatment process are the causes for waste accumulation and environmental degradation.DOI: http://doi.org/10.31357/fhss/vjhss.v05i02.0

What are the psychosocial outcomes of treatment for thyroid eye disease? A systematic review

Background: Thyroid eye disease (TED) causes a number of esthetic and visual problems and its treatment requires close clinical assessment, often for several years. There is evidence to suggest that clinical factors are poor indicators of patient-reported outcomes after treatments that aim to improve appearance, vision, or both. Psychosocial factors can impact on both adjustment to living with TED and also patients’ perceptions of their improvements after treatment. There has been growing recognition that it is essential to evaluate treatment efficacy in terms of psychosocial outcomes but, to date, there has been no review that has systematically evaluated psychosocial outcomes following a variety of treatments for TED. Summary: Fifteen studies were included in the review and 6 were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The studies varied greatly in methodological rigor; whilst major treatments such as surgery do improve quality of life outcomes, other non-invasive treatments such as intravenous steroids can have a similar impact and show long-term benefits. Only 3 studies reviewed orbital decompressive surgery which showed better psychosocial outcomes than other types of surgery. Conclusions: The effect of some treatments remains unclear due to poor methodology and poor reporting of results. Clinicians need to be aware when planning rehabilitative treatments such as surgery the influence of psychosocial factors on quality of life outcomes and the lack of a relationship with clinical factors such as disease severity