Multiplexed identification, quantification and genotyping of infectious agents using a semiconductor biochip

The emergence of pathogens resistant to existing antimicrobial drugs is a growing worldwide health crisis that threatens a return to the pre-antibiotic era. To decrease the overuse of antibiotics, molecular diagnostics systems are needed that can rapidly identify pathogens in a clinical sample and determine the presence of mutations that confer drug resistance at the point of care. We developed a fully integrated, miniaturized semiconductor biochip and closed-tube detection chemistry that performs multiplex nucleic acid amplification and sequence analysis. The approach had a high dynamic range of quantification of microbial load and was able to perform comprehensive mutation analysis on up to 1,000 sequences or strands simultaneously in <2 h. We detected and quantified multiple DNA and RNA respiratory viruses in clinical samples with complete concordance to a commercially available test. We also identified 54 drug-resistance-associated mutations that were present in six genes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, all of which were confirmed by next-generation sequencing

Multiplexed identification, quantification and genotyping of infectious agents using a semiconductor biochip

The emergence of pathogens resistant to existing antimicrobial drugs is a growing worldwide health crisis that threatens a return to the pre-antibiotic era. To decrease the overuse of antibiotics, molecular diagnostics systems are needed that can rapidly identify pathogens in a clinical sample and determine the presence of mutations that confer drug resistance at the point of care. We developed a fully integrated, miniaturized semiconductor biochip and closed-tube detection chemistry that performs multiplex nucleic acid amplification and sequence analysis. The approach had a high dynamic range of quantification of microbial load and was able to perform comprehensive mutation analysis on up to 1,000 sequences or strands simultaneously in <2 h. We detected and quantified multiple DNA and RNA respiratory viruses in clinical samples with complete concordance to a commercially available test. We also identified 54 drug-resistance-associated mutations that were present in six genes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, all of which were confirmed by next-generation sequencing

Dalit Women, Anti-caste Aesthetics, and the Politics of Representation

This dissertation examines key problems in the representation of caste and argues for its importance as a vector of intersectional analysis of world literature. It uses an anti-caste feminist framework to foreground representations of Dalit women in short stories, graphic narratives, autobiographies, Anglophone Indian and Dalit novels, and explores the politics of their publication and circulation to argue that, in a context in which Dalit voices are deprivileged in and beyond India, a focus on intersectional experiences and caste consciousness are vital to reimagining collective solidarity of Dalits with other political movements locally and globally. Recognizing the impossible yet necessary nature of such relational politics, this project focuses on how caste and Dalit subjectivity have been perceived, presented, or challenged by Dalit and non-Dalit works alike while paying close attention to how the exclusion, cooptation, appropriation, and absence of Dalit women\u27s interventions underline the systemic erasure of the gendered experience of caste in postcolonial Indian and patriarchal Dalit literature, as well as mainstream feminism. In the struggle against these structural conditions, it argues for an anti-caste aesthetics that refuses homogenizing the specificity of the individual, contextual, and intersectional experiences of Dalits. Such an aesthetics sheds light not only on the workings of caste but also on structural oppression more generally and thus offers a fresh approach to engage in a nuanced and reflective global feminism.The first chapter examines the representation of Dalit female characters in select works of Bama, Gogu Shyamala, M.M. Vinodini, Urmila Pawar, and Joopaka Subhadra to explore how a focus on the intersectional experiences and the agency and subjectivity of Dalit women can give rise to a subversive anti-caste feminist framework. It argues that short stories by these writers provide an understanding of the ways in which solidarities can be built through the centering of differences of subject positions without resorting to liberal individualism. Chapter two explores the role of Dalit women, the significance of Dalit leaders (Jyotirao Phule and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar), and the role of upper caste participants in anti-caste struggles in A Gardener in the Wasteland (2011) by Srividya Natarajan and Aparajita Ninan and Bhimayana (2011) by Durgabai Vyam, Shubham Vyam, Srividya Natarajan, and S. Anand. It illustrates how the work of non-Dalit writers can reassess nationalist history and the deeply casteist structure of Indian society, highlight the intersectional experiences of Dalit women, and engage in anti-caste aesthetics through a nuanced understanding of what it means to be caste conscious. The third chapter examines Omprakash Valmiki\u27s Joothan (2003) and Sharankumar Limbale\u27s The Outcaste (2003) to complicate how the scripting of individual identity and the demands of a collective affiliation, the process of translation for global circulation, and the representation of Dalit women\u27s contributions to anti-caste aesthetics is premised on a struggle to resolve deep divisions and differences of approach, thereby, keeping them in a constant state of double bind. Chapter four examines how Rohinton Mistry\u27s A Fine Balance (1995), Arundhati Roy\u27s The God of Small Things (1997), and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (2017) engage with the problem of representing Dalit resistance and explores the aesthetic challenges they face in articulating the slow violence of caste and the intersectional nature of Dalit women\u27s struggles. While these novels provide a sustained critique of the discrimination and violence that Dalits face, they still align themselves with progressive Gandhian philosophy rather than subaltern Ambedkarite politics. I argue that in contrast to novels by Dalit female writers, in Mistry and Roy\u27s works, Dalit women are either invisible, co-opted, or overlooked in the shaping of Dalit male selfhood

A molecular docking study of anticancer drug paclitaxel and its analogues

101-105Present study was aimed at finding a better alternative to paclitaxel, an anticancer chemotherapeutic drug. Two targets, tubulin -1 chain and apoptosis regulator Bcl-2 protein (2O2F) were used in the study. Of these, structure of tubulin -1 chain is not known and that of Bcl-2 was taken from protein data bank with ID 2O2F. Tertiary structure model of tubulin -1 chain was predicted and validated. The validated 3D structure of tubulin -1 chain and Bcl-2 protein was taken to study their interaction with paclitaxel. Molecular docking of paclitaxel and its analogues was performed with these targets separately. Results showed that out of 84 analogues taken from PubChem, CID_44322802 had glide score of -9.62, as compared to -5.86 of paclitaxel with tubulin -1 chain. It was also observed that CID_ 9919057 had glide score of -9.0, as compared to -8.24 of paclitaxel with Bcl-2 protein. However, further experimental and clinical verification is needed to establish these analogues as drug

Clinico-demographic study of otitis media with effusion in different age groups

Background: Otitis Media with Effusion is mainly a disease of childhood. But it can also occur in adults. It can present with various symptoms like difficulty in hearing, blocked sensation in the ear, earache, tinnitus etc. Young children are often diagnosed late due to their inability to express hearing difficulty, and are often diagnosed accidentally. Appearance of the tympanic membrane can also be varying among patients. There may be retraction, dull appearance and change in colour, or reduced mobility. Fluid level or air bubble can also be present in the middle ear behind the tympanic membrane.Aim: To study the demographic profile of the patients diagnosed with OME and to determine the variations in the signs and symptoms of OME in different age groups.Method: This is an observational study. It was conducted on all the patients attending the OPD at a tertiary hospital, and diagnosed with OME over the course of one year. The diagnosis was made after proper history taking and clinical examination and with the aid of audiometry and tympanometry. An effort was made to map out the demographic profile of all the patients diagnosed with OME, and to study the variations in the signs and symptoms of OME across different age groups.Result:In the analysis of parameters it was found that statistically significant higher number of cases were children (&lt; 10 years of age). Number of male was more than female in children but it was equal in adult. Significantly more number of children in the study had bilateral involvement, but in adolescent and adult there was no statistical difference between the incidence of bilateral and unilateral involvement. Difficulty in hearing and heaviness in ears were the two most common presenting symptoms with addition of tinnitus in adult group. Most common appearance of the tympanic membrane was dull in all the ages.Conclusion:In the present study it is evident that the Otitis media with media (OME) is much more common in pediatric population and has a little male preponderance, which corroborates the consensus of the word literature. The present study also corroborates the existing knowledge on some aspect the disease like presenting symptoms (difficulty in hearing and block sensation being the commonest) appearance of tympanic membrane or degree of hearing loss.An effort was made in the present study to compare some aspect of the disease among the patients of different age group.While corroborating most of the issues regarding OME with the existing literature, present study indicates some differences in presentation and diagnostic features in different age groups

EXPLORING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN MARITAL SATISFACTION, SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE, AGGRESSION, AND LOCUS OF CONTROL

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Abstract&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The present study focused on examining the potential links between marital contentment and several factors, including social media usage, aggressive behaviour, and locus of control. The research sample comprised 200 participants from the Darbhanga district in Bihar, who were selected through a purposive-cum-incidental sampling technique. The Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (KMS), Scale of Social Networking Usage, Bhardwaj's Aggression Scale, and Rotter's Locus of Control Scale were employed to assess the variables of interest. The collected data was analysed using the Pearson correlation method. The findings indicated that social media usage, aggressive behaviour, and locus of control had a negative association with marital satisfaction. The study's results provide crucial insights into the factors that can impact marital relationships, particularly in the context of contemporary social media usage.&lt;/p&gt