That Which Shall Not be Named: Questioning the Taboo of Lobbying in the Indian Polity

Lobby groups exert strong influence on the formulation of public policies across all major democratic political systems. The more pluralist democracies, which are open to several competing interests, witness higher degree of interest groups functioning. Such ubiquity, however, is coupled with an increasing crisis in terms of declining public legitimacy, transparency and accountability. As a global practice, legal regulation is employed as the fundamental approach to bring the requisite transparency and legitimacy to the lobbying process. India, as a transitional political economy, witnesses substantive deterioration in its public sphere and legislative activity. Lobbying comes across as a taboo in debates around the workings of the Indian polity. The paper proposes recognition and regulation of lobbying as the next generation reform to revive the declining standards of policy debates

Hysteresis Current Control Operation of Flying Capacitor Multilevel Inverter and Its Application in Shunt Compensation of Distribution Systems

Flying capacitor multilevel inverter (FCMLI) is a multiple voltage level inverter topology intended for high voltage and power operations with low distortion. It uses capacitors, called flying capacitors for clamping the voltage across the power semiconductor devices. In this paper, the implementation of a distribution static compensator (DSTATCOM) using an FCMLI is presented. A hysteresis current control technique for controlling the injected current by the FCMLI-based DSTATCOM is discussed. A new method for controlling the flying capacitor voltages is proposed which ensures that their voltages remain constant and at the same time maintain the desired current profile under the hysteresis current control operation. Simulation studies are performed using PSCAD/EMTDC to validate the efficacy of the control scheme and the FCMLI-based DSTATCOM

Static shunt and series compensations of an SMIB system using flying capacitor multilevel inverter

The flying capacitor multilevel inverter (FCMLI) is a multiple voltage level inverter topology intended for high-power and high-voltage operations at low distortion. It uses capacitors, called flying capacitors, to clamp the voltage across the power semiconductor devices. A method for controlling the FCMLI is proposed which ensures that the flying capacitor voltages remain nearly constant using the preferential charging and discharging of these capacitors. A static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) and a static synchronous series compensator (SSSC) based on five-level flying capacitor inverters are proposed. Control schemes for both the FACTS controllers are developed and verified in terms of voltage control, power flow control, and power oscillation damping when installed in a single-machine infinite bus (SMIB) system. Simulation studies are performed using PSCAD/EMTDC to validate the efficacy of the control scheme and the FCMLI-based flexible alternating current transmission system (FACTS) controllers

A study of effect of medications on patients with non complicated acute bronchitis

Background: Authors define acute bronchitis as a self-limiting infection of large airways, which is characterized by cough without pneumonia. NSAIDS (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are prescribed in patients with Lower Respiratory Tract Infections (LRTI). In cough, fever and chest pain it is common practice to prescribe NSAIDS or antibiotics. Authors have conducted assessment of effect of medications in the resolution of cough of patients with uncomplicated acute bronchitis.Methods: It was a single blinded randomized clinical trial conducted in patients admitted to pulmonary medicine department of government medical college Shivpuri. Patients were from age group 18 to 70 years presenting with respiratory tract infection of less than one week’s duration, with cough as the predominant symptom and diagnosed with non-complicated acute bronchitis. Patients were randomized into two groups, group A and B according to medications.Results: Among 120 participants were randomized (60 to ibuprofen and 60 to antibiotic). The median number of days with frequent cough was slightly lower among patients of group A (12 days) compared with those receiving amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (14 days). No significant difference was found. Adverse effect was seen in 24 patients, which was most common in group B (15.25%) than group A (9.15%). p<0.05).Conclusions: No significant differences were observed in the number of days with cough between patients with uncomplicated acute bronchitis treated with ibuprofen or amoxicillin-clavulanic acid

Optimization of state-of-the-art fuzzy-metaheuristic ANFIS-based machine learning models for flood susceptibility prediction mapping in the Middle Ganga Plain, India

CRediT authorship contribution statement: Dr. Aman Arora and Dr. Alireza Arabameri have conceptualized the study, prepared the dataset, and optimized the models. Dr. Manish Pandey has helped in writing the manuscript. Prof. Masood A. Siddiqui, Prof. U.K. Shukla, Prof. Dieu Tien Bui, Dr. Varun Narayan Mishra, and Dr. Anshuman Bhardwaj have helped in improving the manuscript at different stages of this work.Peer reviewedPostprin

Assessment of ecosystem services of rice farms in eastern India

Authors acknowledge the financial help provided by Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India and also thank Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Director, ICAR-National Rice Research Institute (NRRI) for giving all the necessary help in executing the work. The help provided by Odisha state officials in carrying out the survey work is gratefully acknowledged. This study is a part of the project entitled “Delivering food security on limited land (DEVIL; Belmont Forum / FACCE-JPI via NERC: NE/M021327/1).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Allele-Specific HLA Loss and Immune Escape in Lung Cancer Evolution

Immune evasion is a hallmark of cancer. Losing the ability to present neoantigens through human leukocyte antigen (HLA) loss may facilitate immune evasion. However, the polymorphic nature of the locus has precluded accurate HLA copy-number analysis. Here, we present loss of heterozygosity in human leukocyte antigen (LOHHLA), a computational tool to determine HLA allele-specific copy number from sequencing data. Using LOHHLA, we find that HLA LOH occurs in 40% of non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) and is associated with a high subclonal neoantigen burden, APOBEC-mediated mutagenesis, upregulation of cytolytic activity, and PD-L1 positivity. The focal nature of HLA LOH alterations, their subclonal frequencies, enrichment in metastatic sites, and occurrence as parallel events suggests that HLA LOH is an immune escape mechanism that is subject to strong microenvironmental selection pressures later in tumor evolution. Characterizing HLA LOH with LOHHLA refines neoantigen prediction and may have implications for our understanding of resistance mechanisms and immunotherapeutic approaches targeting neoantigens. Video Abstract [Figure presented] Development of the bioinformatics tool LOHHLA allows precise measurement of allele-specific HLA copy number, improves the accuracy in neoantigen prediction, and uncovers insights into how immune escape contributes to tumor evolution in non-small-cell lung cancer

Flying-capacitor-based chopper circuit for DC capacitor voltage balancing in diode-clamped multilevel inverter

This paper proposes a flying-capacitor-based chopper circuit for dc capacitor voltage equalization in diode-clamped multilevel inverters. Its important features are reduced voltage stress across the chopper switches, possible reduction in the chopper switching frequency, improved reliability, and ride-through capability enhancement. This topology is analyzed using three- and four-level flying-capacitor-based chopper circuit configurations. These configurations are different in capacitor and semiconductor device count and correspondingly reduce the device voltage stresses by half and one-third, respectively. The detailed working principles and control schemes for these circuits are presented. It is shown that, by preferentially selecting the available chopper switch states, the dc-link capacitor voltages can be efficiently equalized in addition to having tightly regulated flying-capacitor voltages around their references. The various operating modes of the chopper are described along with their preferential selection logic to achieve the desired performances. The performance of the proposed chopper and corresponding control schemes are confirmed through both simulation and experimental investigations

State Feedback Control of Multilevel Inverters for DSTATCOM Applications

In this paper, load compensation using multilevel inverter-based distribution static compensator (DSTATCOM) is presented. The DSTATCOM is connected to a three-phase four-wire (3p4w) distribution system. Two different multilevel inverter topologies are used to realize the DSTATCOM. They are diode-clamped multilevel inverter (DCMLI) and flying capacitor multilevel inverter (FCMLI). A compensating technique has been derived, which uses the state feedback control to the multilevel inverters-based DSTATCOMs. A switching strategy for the multilevel inverters that ensures utilization of all output voltage states of the inverter for efficient tracking of references has been proposed. The schemes of dc-link capacitor voltage control for DCMLI and flying capacitor voltage control for FCMLI have been discussed. Comparative studies of performances of the two DSTATCOM topologies are performed. The simulation studies are performed using PSCAD/EMTDC to validate the efficacy of the proposed control scheme

Evaluation of pain relief and rehabilitation provided by per operative periarticular injection of ropivacaine among patients undergoing total knee replacement arthroplasty

Background and Objective: Total knee arthroplasty is a frequently performed procedure that ensures improvement in quality of life. The incidence is expected to increase to upto 3.48 million procedures annually by 2030 because of the increase in geriatric population due to improved medical care. This study was undertaken to assess the efficacy of per operative periarticular injection of Ropivacaine on post-operative pain and compare the post operative outcome measures between the two groups. Material and Methods: This study was conducted in the Department Of Orthopaedics, Vivekananda Polyclinic & Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh). Fifty patients undergoing unilateral Total Knee replacement were enrolled. Ethical clearance was obtained from the institutional ethical committee and written informed consent was taken from all participating patients. Results: The mean age of Group A and Group B were 61.40 ± 1.45 years and 62.52 ± 1.76 years respectively. Tukey test showed significantly (p<0.001) different and lower VAS score in Group B as compared to Group A at all periods. Periarticular injection of ropivacaine has shown reduced requirement of urinary catheterization and thus helps in reducing morbidity and complications.Conclusion: Per operative periarticular injection of ropivacaine has been shown to be very successful, safe and cost effective protocol for alleviating post operative pain in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty and also leading to early rehabilitation