Possessive indexes in Assamese

This paper deals with a comprehensive description of a set of possessive indexes found in Assamese, a language spoken in the eastern part of India, by a majority of people living in the state of Assam. Genetically, this language belongs to the group of Indo-Aryan language family and shares a close affinity with Bengali and Oriya languages due to their common source of origin. The possessive indexes of the language are found to be suffixed to the possessed noun in possessive constructions (Possessive NPs)) in terms of the category of person. Cross-linguistically, it is not very uncommon to find this kind of markers in possessive NPs (Siewierska 2004). But what makes Assamese interesting in this respect is that the set of markers found in Assamese is not derived from pronominal forms as attested in many languages of the world. Furthermore, the existence of possessive markers is an unusual phenomenon in Assamese in that it is neither common in NIA languages nor in South Asian languages (Paudyal 2008). Apart from a few geographically distant languages of Indo-Aryan origin, these markers are not available in any other Indo-Aryan languages which are close to Assamese, either geographically or genetically. Thus, this paper focuses on four aspects:  a comprehensive description of the markers as stated above, a survey of the markers in other Indo-Aryan languages, the historical origin of the markers, and the origin of the system of marking

[Review of] Shalini Shankar. Des; Land: Teen Culture, Class and Success in Silicon Valley

Shalini Shankar begins her book by locating her own positionality of growing up in a predominantly white, middle-class high school in suburban New York versus the study\u27s main focus of South Asian youth in Silicon Valley\u27s mostly ethnic neighborhoods. Shankar was encouraged by her Indian, immigrant family to socialize with other South Asians, similar to the youth she studies; however, she clearly notes the stark differences in the researcher and subject divisions. Shankar employs an unusual anthropological approach to study Desi youth in the Silicon Valley by historically contexualizing the economic success of the South Asian community while presenting the sometimes destructive behavior of the youth. These behaviors include drug use, gossip, interyouth and inter-generational tensions. This study was completed during the 1999-2001, at the height of the dot.com boom. Shankar seems to develop a genuine bond with the youth and organizes the data and research in a methodological, organized, and analytical way. The scholarly contribution she makes to South Asian American Studies and Women\u27s Studies is concrete and evidenced by various points that follow. She also provides a significant insight into inter-generation bonding, although her discussion of slang language within the Desi youth culture remains somewhat reductive

Considering the effects of poverty and schooling returns on child labour in Vietnam

This paper examines the effects of poverty and schooling returns on child labour in Vietnam using household-level data from the Vietnam Living Standards Survey (VLSS) for 1997-98. I find that poverty is a robust determinant of child labour in Vietnam. Being above the poverty line reduces child work by as much as 146 hours a year. There is little additional effect of further increases in income giving support to the idea that child non-work is a luxury good. Schooling returns are statistically significant but the effect on child work hours is small. Interestingly, higher returns in the urban area increase child work hours in adjoining rural regions. This result is consistent with a possibility of increasing returns to education and migration to urban centers for higher training, while remaining siblings work more to make up for the foregone earnings of the migrants and to perhaps pay for the added education expense. I do not find evidence of credit constraints affecting child hours.Child Labor; poverty; education; Vietnam.

Coming to Terms with Death: Theodicy in Hindu Myth and Biblical Narrative

This article examines the manner in which two major world religions explain death. Bakshi claims that both religions make peace with the end of life through an overwhelming respect for nature, theodicy, and a masochistic attitude. Using the language and theories of Peter Berger, Bakshi examines the Hindu myth of Mahishasuramardini and the Biblical narrative of Job. The story of Mahisha, Bakshi explains, shows him as a half-brahmin, half-beast who desperately craves the immortality of the gods. All of his attempts fail under the overwhelming power of Durga, the creator and destroyer goddess. Right before Durga kills Mahisha, he surrenders his individuality to the whole of the religious experience and understands why his death is necessary, and accepts his decapitation. This, Bakshi explains, is what Berger terms the masochistic attitude the ultimate surrender of the self to find ecstasy in the greater religious experience. The biblical narrative of Job, the story of a good man on his death bed as he questions his fate and the workings of god, also has a sense of this masochism. Job\u27s friends tell him repeatedly that he must have done something to deserve his fate, but for the bulk of the story Job refuses to accept this answer. Through reflection, Job finally comes to terms with the fact that he must accept God\u27s will and the natural process. In both of these stories, Bakshi argues, the frailty of the human understanding of the moral order is destroyed through the overwhelming power of nature. These stories show that only through a respect for the power of nature and a complete surrendering of the self to the divine can religious people find honest acceptance of death

The Role of Genomic Versatility in Multi-Niche Preferences of \u3cem\u3eEscherichia Coli\u3c/em\u3e

Escherichia coli strains are naturally present as either commensals or pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract of mammals and some other vertebrates. Until recently, it was assumed that E. coli are solely associated with the gut and are unable to survive outside of a host for a long period of time, the basis of its use as an indicator organism. Recent reports suggest that E. coli can become naturalized to several tropical, subtropical or temperate soils and aquatic environments, where they have been isolated repeatedly. Several studies have shown that these strains are capable of surviving and proliferating in the environment under suitable conditions. Not only have these strains adapted to the environment but also, several studies have revealed that they are genetically distinct from their gut-associated counterparts. In this dissertation, I focused to understand the genomic versatility and adaptation strategies of E. coli in pasture and pond ecosystems. The objectives of my research were (I) to determine the E. coli diversity and niche partitioning in pasture and pond ecosystems, (II) to compare the growth and extended survival of environmental E. coli isolates and E. coli O157:H7 in soil organic matter, (III) to determine E. coli fitness in soil by determining the antibiotic resistance, presence of virulence genes and susceptibility to grazing by Dictyostelium discoideum, and (IV) to compare the genotypic and phenotypic diversity of 20 representative isolates. These objectives were achieved as follows. Sampling of the pasture and pond environments in this study involved various representative sample types of two ecosystems. Phylogrouping and phylogenetic analysis of mutS and uidA genes were used to determine the diversity within the E. coli populations obtained, and to find out if any possible unique environmental strains exist or any of these isolates belongs to one of the previously described Escherichia clades. Furthermore, to determine the survival ability of isolates in soil a long-term survival study was conducted in liquid soil organic matter (SESOM) at 25 °C as well as in sterile soil outside over winter. The ability of E. coli to survive in various environments depends on several factors. The fitness of these isolates to survive in soil and aquatic environments was determined by biofilm and RDAR (red, dry and rough) formation, antibiotic resistance, presence of virulence genes and protozoan grazing susceptibility. Comparative analyses of the whole genome sequences of 20 isolates were conducted using EDGAR computational platform and R programming. A Phenotypic microarray assay was used to obtain the nutrient utilization profile of 20 isolates. The results of pasture isolate studies indicated the existence of environmental E. coli that are phylogenetically distinct from bovine fecal isolates, and which are able to better maintain populations in the soil environment. The pond isolates showed a distribution pattern of genotypic and phenotypic traits among isolates of various sample sources based on their niche preferences. Population genetic analysis of both the uidA and mutS genes supported the existence of three separate populations in the pond ecosystem. The bovine feces isolates belonged to one population and the snail isolates were of two, whereas the sediment, plant, and water isolates were an admixture of three different populations. The antibiotic resistance pattern of snail and bovine feces isolates were very different from sediment, plant and water isolates. The environmental strains were found to be more resistant to protozoan grazing, suggesting these strains may have developed some mechanism to avoid grazing, thereby displaying enhanced survival in soil. E. coli isolates from pasture soil and bovine feces displayed a high genotypic and phenotypic diversity within phylogroups. However the genotype diversity did not mirror the phenotypic distribution. Further implementation of transcriptome, proteome and metabolomics data is necessary to understand the genotype and phenotypic relatedness of organisms. These results suggest that E. coli strains with the potential to be pathogenic are able to maintain populations in the environment more broadly than previously thought. The presence of naturalized or environmental populations of E. coli in soil and aquatic environments renders the use of this bacterium as an indicator organism ambiguous at best. The ability to distinguish between environmental and host associated strains could allow for more accurate use of E. coli as an indicator for recent fecal contamination

\u3ci\u3eHaemophilus influenzae\u3c/i\u3e modulins in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease airway inflammation

Nontypeable H. influenzae (NTHi) causes repeated respiratory infections characterized by a brisk inflammatory response that results in the expression and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. We hypothesized that secreted and cell asssociated NTHi proteins mediate cellular interactions with respiratory epithelial cells, leading to the production of interleukin (IL)-8. We exposed human tracheal epithelial cells to H. influenzae strain Rd and compared the resulting profiles of IL-8 secretion. Putative H. influenzae Rd modulins were enriched from culture supernatant fluid. Proteome analysis of the enriched fractions revealed 27 candidate proteins. Further analysis of four proteins, ClpB, OmpP2, TonB, and RelA, suggested a potential role in the IL-8 response. A fifth protein, FtsH, showed no such response. Study of the other 22 proteins is required to understand their role in cytokine induction. These results suggest that factors other than lipooligosaccharide (LOS) contribute to IL-8 secretion

Immunomodulatory Effect Of Host And Fungal Eicosanoids During Host-Pathogen Interactions With Candida Albicans

Candida albicans, an opportunistic fungal pathogen, poses a significant clinical threat to immunocompromised patients. Diseases associated with this fungus ranges from superficial mucosal infection to life-threatening systemic candidiasis. The mechanisms by which Candida persists at mucosal surfaces in the face of an adaptive response are unclear. Candida produces immunomodulatory oxylipins that cross-react functionally with host eicosanoids, which are considered to play important role in regulating innate and adaptive immune responses. Our objective was to characterize the role of prostaglandins produced by the host and this fungus during host pathogen interactions, both in vitro with dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages, and in vivo during pathogenesis. At early time point, there was upregulation of Th2 cytokines IL-4, IL-10, and IL-13 by both plasmacytoid and myeloid DCs in the presence of hyphae and PGE2. At later time points, fungal or host PGE2 treatment resulted in decreased Th1 cytokine production (IL-12 and IL-6) and slightly increased Th2 cytokine production (IL-4). DC vaccination experiments demonstrated that yeast pulsed DCs imparted protection, which was abrogated with exposure to host or fungal PGE2. Non-protective responses were associated with Th2 cytokine production, and at later stages, exacerbated Th17 responses accompanied by uncontrolled fungal growth. Ours is the first study to report presence of Th17 cytokines in the mice kidneys during systemic candidiasis and its associated lack of protection. We also demonstrated that during the interaction of C. albicans with the macrophages, PGE2 and PGEx decreased phagocytosis and increased intracellular survival. We also investigated the effects of eicosanoid inhibitors during mucosal and systemic infection models. During experimental C. albicans vaginitis, treatment with inhibitors locally resulted in decreased fungal burden and PGE2 levels. Similar results were observed during systemic infection, which correlated with restoration of Th1 cytokines. These studies suggested that balanced manipulation with eicosanoid production can work without suppressing inflammatory response and inhibit fungal growth at same time. This could provide newer avenues for developing novel pharmacological intervention strategies to treat C. albicans infections