The Distribution of Household Wealth in India

assets, liabilities, vertical inequality, horizontal inequality, land, real estate

Out of school and (probably) in work: Child labour and capability deprivation in India

This paper explores the hypothesis that the phenomenon of child labour is explicable in terms of poverty that compels a household to keep its children out of school and put them to work in the cause of the household’s survival. In exploring the link between child labour and poverty in the Indian context, the paper advances the view that the nature of the connection is more readily apprehended if both the variables under study are defined more expansively and inclusively than is customarily the case. Specifically, the suggestion is that it may be realistic to include those children who are conventionally categorized as ‘non-workers not attending school’ within the count of child labourers. It is also suggested that poverty is meaningfully measured in terms of a multi-dimensional approach to the problem, wherein the aim is to assess generalized capability failure—arising from want of access to elementary infrastructural facilities and essential amenities—with respect to a number of basic human functionings. The core of the paper’s argument is presented by means of a simple analytical model of child labour and deprivation, and the issues emerging from it are studied in the Indian context with the support of both primary and secondary data

Growth and inequality in the distribution of India's consumption expenditure 1983 to 2009-10

This paper undertakes an assessment of the evolution of inequality in the distribution of consumption expenditure in India over the last quarter-century, from 1983 to 2009-10, employing data available in the quinquennial 'thick' surveys of the National Sample Survey Office. We find that plausible adjustments to the data, along with an emphasis on 'centrist' rather than 'rightist' or 'leftist' inequality measures, lead to a picture of inequality in the distribution of consumption expenditure widening over time, which is at odds with the impression of more or less unchanging inequality conveyed in some of the literature available on the subject in India

On the 'inclusiveness' of India's consumption expenditure growth

This paper reviews the evidence on the 'inclusiveness' of the growth in consumption expenditure that has occurred in India over the last four decades or so. The notion of dynamic inclusiveness is framed in terms of imagined normative allocations of the inter-temporal product of growth, as dictated by notions of equity of varying orders of demandingness. There are analytical parallels between these exercises and those involved in the study of bankruptcy in 'Talmudic estate problems', as well as in the determination of optimal anti-poverty budgetary allocations. The issue of inclusive growth is reviewed in this paper with respect to inclusiveness across both income classes and social groups such as caste and occupation. The results of the investigation undertaken in the essay suggest distressingly little evidence of inclusiveness in India's consumption growth experience

Effect of Clerodendrum serratum leaf extract on biochemical and oxidative stress parameters of testis in 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene induced skin carcinogenesis in Swiss albino mice

The biochemical contents and antioxidant potential of Clerodendrum serratum (Verbenaceae) leaf extract (CSLE) on 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) induced skin carcinogenicity in testis of mice was investigated. Group I received distilled water served as control. The skin lesions were induced by twice-weekly topical application of DMBA for 2 weeks on the shaved backs of group II, III, IV and V mice. CSLE was administered to group III, IV and V mice at the dose of 300, 600 and 900 mg/kg b.wt/day, for 4 week before DMBA application, and continued till 45 days. On 46th day the mice were sacrificed, testis were dissected out freed from adherent tissue and weighed to nearest milligram and evaluated the biochemical contents DNA, RNA, protein, glycogen, cholesterol, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Succinic dehydrogenase (SDH), acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activities, oxidative stress parameters, levels of glutathione (GSH), thiobarbaturic acid reactive substances (TBARS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione-s-transferase (GST). DMBA induced skin carcinogenesis decreased body and testis weight, DNA, RNA, protein, glycogen, GSH level, SDH, AKP, SOD, CAT and GST activities. But there was increase in cholesterol content, LDH, ACP activities and TBARS level. DMBA act via generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) as tumor initiator and free radicals inducing oxidative stress. The results revealed that there was a recovery in biochemical contents, dehydrogenases, phosphatases and oxidative stress parameters in testis. Thus, the present study inferred that CSLE administration significantly curtailed tumor development and counteracted all the biochemical effects. Many plant secondary metabolites exhibit potent anticarcinogenic potential and known to exert their effects by quenching reactive oxygen, inhibiting lipid peroxidation

Liver fluke vaccines: Vaccination Against Fasciolosis by a Multivalent Vaccine of Recombinant Stage-Specific Antigens

Fasciola\u27s excretory-secretory material comprises chiefly cathepsin B and cathepsin L. These cysteine proteases are proposed as major mediators of parasitism, and are considered targets for vaccination. In order to assess the vaccine efficacy of these enzymes, single and multivalent recombinant protein vaccinations of adult-stage F. hepatica cathepsin L5, metacercarial-stage F. gigantica cathepsin L1 g and juvenile-stage F. hepatica cathepsin B were analysed in rats against F. hepatica challenge infection. The protective efficacy of anti-fluke vaccines was evaluated in terms of parasitological parameters (recovered fluke burden, fluke body size and wet weight) and pathological changes (liver damage score) in rats. The rats vaccinated with recombinant proteins were shown to have significantly fewer and smaller flukes than the control rats. A maximum protection of 83% was seen in the group vaccinated with a combination of cathepsin B and cathepsin L5

Misregulation of mitochondria-lysosome contact dynamics in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 2B disease Rab7 mutant sensory peripheral neurons

Inter-organelle contact sites between mitochondria and lysosomes mediate the crosstalk and bidirectional regulation of their dynamics in health and disease. However, mitochondria-lysosome contact sites and their misregulation have not been investigated in peripheral sensory neurons. Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2B disease is an autosomal dominant axonal neuropathy affecting peripheral sensory neurons caused by mutations in the GTPase Rab7. Using live super-resolution and confocal time-lapse microscopy, we showed that mitochondria-lysosome contact sites dynamically form in the soma and axons of peripheral sensory neurons. Interestingly, Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2B mutant Rab7 led to prolonged mitochondria-lysosome contact site tethering preferentially in the axons of peripheral sensory neurons, due to impaired Rab7 GTP hydrolysis-mediated contact site untethering. We further generated a Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2B mutant Rab7 knock-in mouse model which exhibited prolonged axonal mitochondria-lysosome contact site tethering and defective downstream axonal mitochondrial dynamics due to impaired Rab7 GTP hydrolysis as well as fragmented mitochondria in the axon of the sciatic nerve. Importantly, mutant Rab7 mice further demonstrated preferential sensory behavioral abnormalities and neuropathy, highlighting an important role for mutant Rab7 in driving degeneration of peripheral sensory neurons. Together, this study identifies an important role for mitochondria-lysosome contact sites in the pathogenesis of peripheral neuropathy