Cash or In-kind Transfers? Evidence from a Randomised Controlled Trial in Delhi, India

Abstract: This article examines a randomised intervention in Delhi, India, that provided unconditional cash transfers to a group of households as a replacement for the food security offered by a below-poverty-level card. The experimental approach can differentiate beneficial effects due to either unconditional cash transfers or newly opened bank accounts. The unconditional cash transfer does not induce a decline in food security; rather, it provides opportunities for households to shift to other nutritious options in non-cereal product categories.</p

PERFORMANCE AND EMISSION ANALYSIS OF CONSTANT SPEED SI ENGINE OPERATED ON HYTHANE (HCNG)

Energy is the basic need of human to survive in this dynamic world. The whole world is toiling hard to meet its energy demands. Every country in this world has high energy demand owing to its increasing population which is posing a threat to energy sustainability. Generally, Energy is consumed in Agriculture, Residential and Transportation sector in which transportation sector has a high percentage of energy consumption. Conventional fuels which are used to power vehicles are having limited reserves. In the present scenario, Petroleum reserves are depleting at a faster rate and causing environmental pollution. It has inspired the researchers to develop new alternate fuels. Alternate fuels are having significant energy content and lower emissions as compared to conventional fuels. Alcohol, Biodiesel, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Hydrogen are the alternate fuels which are being used today. CNG is being used extensively all over the world. CNG is having low laminar burning velocity which makes it more prone towards knocking. Hydrogen has high laminar burning velocity which makes it a better supplement to CNG. The blend thus obtained by mixing Hydrogen and CNG is known as Hythane or HCNG. Hythane has the advantages of both the parent fuels which make it a promising fuel for automotives. This paper includes the effect of Hydrogen addition to CNG which is tested on a single cylinder, four-stroke, water cooled SI engine. Determination of optimum percentage of Hydrogen in CNG and emissions analysis is also included in the paper

An Indian effort towards affordable drugs: "generic to designer drugs"

This review discusses the progress of India from being one of the largest producers of generics to its coming of age and initiating novel drug development programs such as the Open Source Drug Discovery for tuberculosis. A few groups have also begun to emerge which focus their research on rational or structure based drug design. We discuss here some of the ongoing efforts in drug discovery in India primarily in national research institutions and academia

Possible involvement of Opioid like Receptor1 (ORL1) Receptor in Ischemic Preconditioning Induced Protection in Rat Brain

Opioid receptor like 1 receptor (ORL1) is a family of G-protein coupled receptor, reported to produce cardio-protection against ischemia- reperfusion induced injury in rat heart. The present study has been designed to investigate the role of ORL1 receptor in ischemic preconditioning (IPC) induced protection in rat brain. IPC was induced by giving 3 episodes of ischemia and reperfusion. Global ischemia for 17 min was given by occlusion of carotid artery followed by 24hr of reperfusion. Memory was assessed by measuring escape latency time (ELT) for consecutively 4 days and time spent in target quadrant (TSTQ) was measured on 5th day by using morrish water maze. IPC significantly decrease in infarct size and improvement in memory as compared to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in control group. Pretreatment with JTC-801(1mg/kg, i.p.), a selective ORL1 receptor antagonist or Glibenclamide (1mg/kg, i.p.), the KATP channel blocker significantly reduce the amplitude of IPC induced cerebroprotection measured in terms of infarct size and positively affects the memory measured in terms of time spent in target quadrant (TSTQ) at 5th day as compare to IPC group. The cerebroprotective effect of IPC was significantly attenuated in JTC-801 and Glibenclamide in combination as compare to Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) group and treated group (Glibenclamide). These results may indicate that cerebroprotective effect of IPC of brain and improvement of memory mediated through ORL1 receptor and activation of KATP channels. Keywords: Opioid receptor like1 receptor, ischemic preconditioning, JTC-801, latency tim

Role of Brain Angiotensin-II in Development of Experimental Diabetic Nephropathy in Wistar Rats

Abstract The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) plays a key role in diabetic nephropathy (DN). Angiotensin-II secreted during the RAAS pathway increases nephropathy. It stimulates oxidative stress which can quench nitric oxide. Reduced nitric oxide level aggravates Ang-II-induced vasoconstriction. Ang-II has also emerged as a central mediator of the glomerular hemodynamic changes that are associated with renal injury. Deletion of ACE2 is also noted due to increased Ang-II level which leads to the development of DN. We hypothesize that nephropathy caused by Ang-II in the periphery may be controlled by brain RAAS. ACE inhibitors and ARBs may show the renoprotective effect when administered through ICV without crossing the blood-brain barrier. DN was observed after 8 weeks of diabetes induction through alloxan. Administration of captopril and valsartan once and in combined therapy for 2 weeks, significantly reduced urine output, blood urea nitrogen, total protein in the urine, serum cholesterol, serum creatinine, serum triglycerides, and kidney/body weight ratio as compared to diabetic control rats. Further, combination therapy significantly increased the body weight and serum nitrate level as compared to diabetic control animals. However, increased ACE2 levels in the brain may reduce the sympathetic outflow and might have decreased the peripheral activity of Ang-II which shows beneficial effects in DN

Assessment of Uranium Concentration in Drinking Water around Khetri Copper Mine Region in Rajasthan, India

496-503Due to serious consequences for human health, it's crucial to know how much uranium (U) is present in our drinking water. The samples of water from various means, viz., hand pumps (HP), tube wells (TB), and public submersible pumps (PSP) from depths of 190 to 1200 feet, with an average depth of 694feet around the Khetri Copper mine in the Sikar and Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, India have been tested for Physico-chemical contents and their uranium levels. The Pulsed LED Fluorimetry method is used to determine the U conc. in water samples. Uranium levels in water samples have been measured to range from 0.68 - 233 μg/l. The U conc. in 28.34% of samples is higher than the WHO & USEPA recommended limit of 30 μg/l and 18.34% of the samples have U conc. higher than the AERB threshold limit of 60μg/l. The annual effective dose is also calculated and its mean value is found to be12.29 μSv/y due to the ingestion of ground-water. The average cancer mortality risk and average morbidity risk are found to be 9.5×10-5 to 1.47×10-4 lower than the threshold limit of 1.67×10-4 indicating the absence of carcinogenic risks. The chemical risk estimated in terms of LADD (life-time average daily dose) value is found to be in the range of 0.05–17.15 μg/kg/day. The Hazard Quotient (HQ) for 18.34% of samples is found greater than unity which indicates the health risk due to the chemical toxicity of U in groundwater. Total Dissolve Salts (TDS) values in some of the water samples are greater than the acceptable limits for drinking water recommended by BIS (500-2000 ppm)