Influence of government policies on industry development: The case of India's automotive industry

The automotive industry in India has come a long way from its nascent state at the time of India's independence in 1947 to its present day dynamic form. As compared to the production of mere 4,000 vehicles in 1950, the production of the industry crossed the historic landmark of 10 million vehicles in 2006. Today, the industry produces a wide range of automobiles and auto-components catering to both the domestic as well as foreign markets. The development of the industry has been shaped by the demand on the one hand and the government interventions on the other; the influence of the latter being considerable. The evolution of India's automotive industry is identified to have occurred in four phases. In the first (1947-1965) and second phase (1966-1979), the important policies identified were related to protection, indigenisation and regulation of the industry. On the one hand, these policies helped India to build an indigenous automotive industry, while on the other it led to unsatisfactory industry performance. In the third phase (1980-1990), the single most important policy identified was the one with regard to relaxation in the means of technology acquisition. The foreign competition inducted into the industry transformed its dynamics. Lastly, in the fourth phase (1991 onwards) the liberalisation with regard to foreign investment had a significant influence on the Indian automotive industry as we see it today. This work traces the evolution of the automotive industry from its inception to present day and identifies the important policies made by the Indian government. The work also studies the influence of important policies on the development of the industry. --India,Automotive,Industrial Policy,Government Policy,Government Influence

An Assessment of Awareness Campaigns in COVID-19 Management

A public awareness campaign is a tool of social marketing technique. The quality of awareness campaign is determined based on its effectiveness which is evaluated by its impact on the audience. To know the awareness related to major media campaigns, during the COVID-19 pandemic related to COVID-appropriate behaviour, a survey tool was designed and administered in online mode among 200 young respondents from Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Data were collected through Google forms shared via various social platforms and snowball sampling technique with age and area related restrictions. The media campaign which made a great impact on the mind and heart of the respondents were “Do gaj doori mask hai jaroori (Mask and maintaining distance of two yards is necessary) ” and “Jab tak dawai nahi tab tak dhilai nahi (No carelessness till a medicine is recommended)” The sources which made people aware were "caller tune" followed by "family and friends" . Almost all components of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour were known to the respondents except, seeking COVID-19 related information from reliable sources and refraining from sharing unverified social media posts. This research throws light on the interventions that can be more impactful and will thus help in better designing and dissemination of awareness campaigns in future

Descriptor based adsorption-energy prediction on nano-clusters for catalyst selection

Nano-catalyst design, supplanting critical/rare metals with earth-abundant elements, for hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs) is a significant material-science and economic challenge. These design challenges can be significantly overcome by extensive first principle simulations. However, these simulations are computationally costly. With an introduction of descriptor, machine-learning methods afford significant advantages in such scenario. Descriptors: Smooth Overlap of Atomic Positions (SOAP) based on charge density, BLEACH, and Local Many- Body Tensor Representation (LMBTR) are proposed, and developed. These are evaluated on database of AuCu, and MoS2 nano-clusters. A learning error of 0.05 eV in adsorption energy, and 1.7 me in charge on hydrogen are realised for LMBTR; while 0.08 eV and 13.4 me, respectively for BLEACH on the AuCu dataset. Although not as accurate as state-of-the-art SOAP-lite (3.36 meV and 0.077 me, respectively), these descriptors have their own benefits. While LMBTR allows for bi-directional operability, BLEACH provides element-agnosticism; both of which missing are from SOAP

The Classic: Total Condylar Knee Replacement in Patients Who Have Rheumatoid Arthritis. A Ten-Year Follow-Up Study

Eighty knee replacements with a total condylar prosthesis in patients who had rheumatoid arthritis were followed for ten years. At ten years, nineteen knees needed revision and sixty-one prostheses were still functioning. The major reasons for revision were loosening of the tibial component or late bacteremic seeding from another site. Radiolucency at the bone-cement interface adjacent to the tibial component was statistically related to malposition of the tibial component. According to the system of The Hospital for Special Surgery, the mean scores were 64 points preoperatively and 85 points postoperatively. Synovitis recurred in only 3 per cent of the knees. When revision, pain, or radiographic evidence of loosening were considered an indication of failure, the ten-year cumulative survival was 75 per cent

Behavioral and transcriptomic analysis of embryonic microglia during colonization and degeneration of zebrafish retina

This work was designed to understand how embryonic microglia precursors migration relates to global processes such as blood vessel development and neurogenesis and to decipher transcriptomic signatures governing embryonic microglia behavior. The zebrafish retina provides a precise anatomical and molecularly characterized extension of forebrain to study colonization by microglia precursors. In this study we decode the mechanism driving the process of the microglia precursors colonization of developing zebrafish retina and its role in early neurodegeneration of visual system. Transgenic live imaging studies and slbp1 mutant analysis of migrating microglia precursors into retina revealed that this migration is a step wise process depending on both retinal vasculogenesis and neurogenesis. These two key processes proceeds at the same time-scale as retinal colonization by microglia precursors. Initially microglia precursors uses emerging blood vessels system around the lens to enter the a space near basement membrane of the retina. As the wave of neurogenesis proceeds, these microglia precursors starts to migrate into retina, preferentially in neuronally differentiated neurons. Intraretinal microglia numbers decrease when retinal neurogenesis is delayed, suggesting crosstalk between early born neurons and microglia precursors. To explore microglia signaling during neurogenesis at the molecular level, we carried out a single-cell transcriptomic analysis of microglia precursors and newly matured microglia in the developing zebrafish brain.Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate Universit

Chronic asymptomatic dislocation of a total hip replacement: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Dislocation of a prosthetic hip is the second most common complication after thromboembolic disease in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty, with an incidence reported as 0.5 to 20%. Although the period of greatest risk for dislocation has been reported to be within the first few months after surgery, late dislocation occurs more commonly then previously thought.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 60-year-old man underwent a right Exeter cemented total hip replacement and was subsequently discharged after appropriate follow-up. He next presented 8 years later complaining of pain in the left groin. An anterioposterior radiograph of the pelvis revealed degenerative changes in the left hip and a dislocated right total hip replacement. The dislocated femoral component had formed a neoacetabulum within the ilium, in which it was freely articulating. He remained pain-free on this side, had 5 cm of true leg length shortening with a good range of movement and was very pleased with his hip replacement. He was later placed on the waiting list for a left total hip replacement.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This case illustrates that a dislocated total hip replacement may occasionally not cause symptoms that cause significant discomfort or reduction in range of movement. The prosthetic femoral head can form a neoacetabulum allowing a full range of pain-free movement. Furthermore it emphasises that with an increased trend to earlier hospital discharge and shorter follow-up, potential complications may be missed. We urge a low index of suspicion for potential complications and suggest that regular review with radiographic follow-up should be made.</p

Risk of cardiovascular diseases and gastrointestinal tract disorders in relation to the impact of shift work among male workers of textile mills in Pali district of Rajasthan, India

he present study was conducted in textile mill of Pali city with the objective to study the risk of cardiac and gastric problems in relation to shift work among male workers. The results showed significant difference between Body Mass Index (?2=14.2, p=0.0008) and waist hip ratio (?2=5.2, p=0.0226) of shift and non shift workers. Results on food intake showed comparatively more deficient daily intake of nutrients like fiber (7.21 g), ? carotene (1842.89 ?g), and folic acid (99.03 ?g) in shift workers with respect to recommended dietary allowances and an overconsumption of fats (37.72 g). Alcoholism (?2=17.3, p=0.0001) and smoking habit (?2=14, p=0.0029) was found to be significantly higher among shift workers. Comparatively higher segment of shift workers suffered from hypertension (56.0%), disturbed appetite (87.50%), stomach upsets (90.0%), nausea (88.50%), heartburn (85.0%) and breathlessness (34.0%). Shift workers also had higher mean levels of lipid profile fractions and relatively more subjects fell into the category of high risk (20.50%) of CVD. Longer duration of involvement in shift work also influenced the occurrence of gastric and cardiac problems like disturbed appetite (?2=9.96, p=0.0411), stomach upsets (?2=9.73, p=0.0452), stomach ache (?2=10.1, p=0.0389), constipation (?2=9.88, p=0.0424), dizziness (47.37%), breathlessness (50.0%) and swollen feet (44.74%). The study concludes that shift work affects food intake, BMI, WHR, BP, alcohol intake, smoking habits and lipid profile of the subjects, thus increasing the risk of health problems like cardiovascular and gastric diseases