101 research outputs found
Sex trafficking of girls and women : Evidence from Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh
No full textA crucial gap in the trafficking literature from India is the dearth of primary data and micro studies that could be used for vulnerability mapping of the source areas and addressing the identified risk factors. The present paper is a small attempt to contribute to plugging the gap in the context of Andhra Pradesh, identified as a hot spot in the trafficking literature. This paper is based on case studies of 78 women who had been trafficked from their places of origin in Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh to metropolitan cities across India and who have since returned to their homes. The paper attempted to identify the individual and family circumstances that contribute to the causes of trafficking, to highlight in particular the gendered vulnerabilities that set these women up for trafficking, and to capture the process of the trafficking experience. The findings of the study are located in the dynamic interplay of the social structural context and specificities of the district that contribute to causes of trafficking and the individual circumstances and agency of the women. The case studies reported in this paper are a pointer to the compelling urgency of interventions that will go beyond the forced / voluntary divide in trafficking and sex work.Andhra Pradesh, India, trafficking
Henosepilachna circellaris
No full textHenosepilachna circellaris (Weise) Epilachna circellaris Weise, 1908: 216 (BMNH). Henosepilachna circellaris: Jadwiszczak & Wegrzynowicz, 2003: 141. Jadwiszczak & Wegrzynowicz (2003) listed H. circellaris as distributed in India in the world catalogue of Epilachninae, though Weise (1908) listed ‘Tharrawaddy’ (now in Myanmar) as its type locality. In Poorani’s (2004) updated online checklist of the Indian Subcontinent fauna, the author of H. circellaris was wrongly cited as Korschefsky and it was also wrongly mentioned as present in India (Karnataka). Distribution: Myanmar (Tharrawaddy).Published as part of Poorani, J., Booth, R. G., Gracy, R. Gandhi, Anuradha, C., Thanigairaj, R. & Swathi, R. S., 2021, Immature stages, host plants and natural enemies of Henosepilachna implicata (Mulsant) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) with DNA sequence data and a new synonym and notes on some Indian species of Epilachnini, pp. 533-546 in Zootaxa 4970 (3) on pages 543-544, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4970.3.5, http://zenodo.org/record/476683
Transition metal catalyzed carbon-carbon bond forming reactions. Stereoselective synthesis of conjugated dienoic and trienoic esters via alkyne elementometalation- Palladium catalyzed cross-coupling
No full textThe first chapter gives a general account of the history of organometallic chemistry and the also discusses the importance of d-block transition metals and its usefulness in the development of cross-coupling. The chapter shows the usefulness of Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling in carbon-carbon bond formation and its general scope. The next chapter, alkenyl-alkenyl cross-coupling by Negishi alkenylation lead to the stereoselective synthesis of all possible isomers of dienoic and trienoic esters via Alkyne Elementometalation–Pd catalyzed cross-coupling tandem process in the presence of PEPPSI catalyst. The synthesis of dienes by Negishi coupling was also compared with other methods such as carbonyl olefination (HWE and SG), Heck alkenylation and Suzuki coupling. Pd-catalyzed alkenylation–carbonyl olefination synergistic approach was used in the synthesis of some isomers of trienoic esters. In the last chapter, emphasis is given towards exploring high turnover numbers (TONs) in Pd-catalyzed alkenyl-alkenyl cross-coupling. Negishi coupling between alkenylzirconium species and alkenyl halide lead to the TONs in the range of 105-107. This will help lower the catalyst loading and reduce the cost in large scale industrial applications of Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions
Potential inhibitors of dengue and West Nile virus proteases
No full textThesis (M.S.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Chemistry."July 2006."Includes bibliographic references (leaves 64-66).The 1,2,5-Thiadiazolidin-3-one 1,1-dioxide scaffold was used in the design and synthesis of inhibitors of Dengue Virus and West Nile Virus proteases and human tryptase. The scaffold was successfully used in the synthesis of potential inhibitors of Dengue Virus and West Nile Virus proteases. Inhibitors of Human tryptase synthesized based on the 1,2,5-Thiadiazolidin-3-one 1,1- dioxide scaffold were shown to be effective mechanism-based inhibitors of the enzyme
Unveiling the ChatGPT Educational Revolution: Assessing the Dynamic Impact on Students and Educators
No full textDue to shifting social demands and technology breakthroughs, the higher education environment is changing quickly. Despite initiatives to make education accessible to everyone, accessibility is still a major problem, especially in light of the digital divide. This study investigates how ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, can revolutionize higher education by tackling important problems including resource efficiency, personalized learning, and accessibility. This study intends to improve learning outcomes for both students and educators by comprehending how instructors and students incorporate ChatGPT into instructional methods. Students and instructors were given both quantitative and qualitative questionnaires as part of a mixed-methods approach, in order to gather data on the usage of ChatGPT for different academic tasks, such as lesson preparation, grading, and student help. Results showed that most people believe ChatGPT to be a useful tool that improves productivity, saves time, and helps with grasping difficult subjects. Questions were raised concerning the veracity of the data that ChatGPT offered and the necessity of organized training. ChatGPT and other AI technologies have the potential to enhance educational results by enabling personalized instruction and offering on-demand learning help. In addition to the continuing discussion on the use of cutting-edge technology in higher education, the findings provide insightful information for educational institutions seeking to use AI to improve teaching and learning. Received: 16 September 2024 | Revised: 9 April 2025 | Accepted: 15 July 2025 Conflicts of Interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to this work. Data Availability Statement Data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Author Contribution Statement Swathi Ganesan: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data curation, Writing – Original draft, Writing – review and editing, Visualization, Project administration. Lakmali Karunarathne: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing, Visualization, Project administration. Ghanshyam Mahota: Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft. Sangita Pokhrel: Conceptualization, Writing – review and editing, Visualization
Matching in power graphs of finite groups
No full textFunding: The author Swathi V V acknowledges the support of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India (CSIR) (Grant No-09/874(0029)/2018-EMR-I), and DST, Government of India, ‘FIST’ (No.SR/FST /MS-I/2019/40).The power graph P(G) of a finite group G is the undirected simple graph with vertex set G, where two elements are adjacent if one is a power of the other. In this paper, the matching numbers of power graphs of finite groups are investigated. We give upper and lower bounds, and conditions for the power graph of a group to possess a perfect matching. We give a formula for the matching number for any finite nilpotent group. In addition, using some elementary number theory, we show that the matching number of the enhanced power graph Pe(G) of G (in which two elements are adjacent if both are powers of a common element) is equal to that of the power graph of G.Peer reviewe
Characterization of the flow-field in circular subsonic impinging jets: Investigation of surface pressure fluctuations and far-field noise emissions through pressure sensor measurements
No full textImpinging jets are relevant ow configurations in many technological developments. For example, on some short take-off and landing aircraft the high speed exhaust from the jet engine is deflected by direct impingement on the aps to create extra lift during take-off. Fatigue due to excessive dynamic loading on the aps and high levels of noise radiation are among the problems encountered in such designs. Additionally, such flow-structure interaction is a good model for cooling of turbine blades, annealing of plastic and metal sheets, deicing of aircraft systems etc.. Jets are easy to simulate and contain all the constituents necessary for the study of shear flows. The shear-layer instability at the nozzle edge develops into axisymmetric toroidal vortices which magnifies in size and strength downstream of the nozzle. The interaction of these vortices with the solid structures induces pressure fluctuations that manifests in the form of noise in the far-field region. Hence, it is also a benchmark case for studying vortex-structure interaction noise.Aerospace Engineering | Aerodynamics and Wind Energ
Defining Key Roles for Retrotransposon-derived Proteins in Ubiquilin-2-mediated and General Cellular Stress Response
No full textAncient domestication events of retrotransposons have given rise to several protein-coding genes in the human genome. These retrotransposon-derived proteins have evolved to co-exist with the endogenous proteome, resulting in unexpected functional partnerships. In this dissertation, I characterized the partnership between two such retrotransposon-derived proteins – retrotransposon Gag-like 8 (RTL8) and paternally expressed gene 10 (PEG10) – and the essential protein quality control factor, Ubiquilin-2 (UBQLN2). UBQLN2 is highly expressed in the brain and primarily promotes proteasomal clearance of polyubiquitinated clients, which include both misfolded proteins and functional proteins whose levels require regulation. During environmental stress conditions, UBQLN2 localizes to stress-induced cytoplasmic biomolecular condensates called stress granules and also translocates to the nucleus, where it reduces toxic stress-induced protein aggregation. However, the mechanisms underlying these changes in UBQLN2’s subcellular distribution remain unclear. Furthermore, UBQLN2 is implicated in multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Huntington’s disease (HD). Therefore, understanding whether RTL8 and PEG10 influence UBQLN2’s roles in stress response and proteostasis is broadly relevant to disease pathology.
As a first step, I used an unbiased proteomics screen to identify RTL8 as one of the strongest interactors of UBQLN2. I subsequently determined that UBQLN2-RTL8 interactions are conserved in both mice and humans. RTL8 levels surprisingly were stabilized by UBQLN2, suggesting it is not a UBQLN2 client. Overexpression of RTL8 drove UBQLN2 localization to nuclear sub-compartments enriched in protein quality control components. In contrast, knocking out RTL8 drastically impaired UBQLN2’s ability to translocate to the nucleus in response to the buildup of nuclear aggregates, such as those that occur during a heat shock or in HD. In summary, these studies established RTL8 as a novel retrotransposon-derived UBQLN2 interactor that facilitates UBQLN2’s translocation to the nucleus.
Next, in an effort to understand how RTL8 depletion affects the proteome, I found that PEG10 – another retrotransposon-derived protein – was significantly increased in RTL8-depleted cells. This increase occurs because RTL8 facilitates interactions between UBQLN2 and PEG10, leading to PEG10 degradation. These interactions are also critical for UBQLN2’s recruitment to stress granules, resulting in reduced stress granule clearance. I further observed that PEG10 recruits UBQLN2 and RTL8, as well as select extracellular vesicle proteins, to stress granules. Since PEG10 assembles into virus-like particles that are secreted in extracellular vesicles, I investigated whether these particles are also present within stress granules. Indeed, cryo-electron microscopy-based experiments revealed numerous PEG10-derived virus-like particles within stress granules, underscoring their remarkable structural heterogeneity. Together, these results define pivotal roles for RTL8 and PEG10 in the recruitment of UBQLN2 to stress granules and more generally in stress granule biology.
Finally, I investigated whether polyubiquitination influences UBQLN2-PEG10 interactions. Unlike canonical clients, initial binding between UBQLN2 and PEG10 does not require polyubiquitination and is instead mediated by RTL8. However, UBQLN2’s ability to bind polyubiquitin is needed for sustained interactions with PEG10. Given that PEG10 is overexpressed in ALS, these studies may open new avenues for therapeutic development.
Collectively, the findings presented in this dissertation have uncovered important co-opted functions of two heretofore poorly characterized, retrotransposon-derived proteins, RTL8 and PEG10, in cellular stress response pathways that are both dependent on and independent of UBQLN2. Since mutations in UBQLN2 and other stress response factors are associated with neurodegenerative disorders, RTL8 and PEG10 may also serve previously unrecognized roles in disease.PhDCellular & Molecular BiologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/199132/1/harimm_1.pd
Obstetric violence, birth trauma, agency, and care in Ami McKay’s The Birth House
No full textAmi McKay’s The Birth House aptly captures how with the advent of obstetric technologies, medical interventions escalated the proportion of women who encounter obstetric violence as part of normal procedures resulting invariably in birth trauma. The novel portrays the dehumanizing experiences of birthing women under the care of a physician who represents the single-sighted perspective of obstetric care, undermining the uniqueness of each delivery experience. The paper analyzes how this narrative captures the phenomenology of obstetric violence during the early twentieth century. The paper aims to study how the novel analyzes the issues such as lack of agency, privacy, and dehumanization experienced by birth mothers in the maternity ward. This paper also aims to discover how the novel advocates for a positive birth experience emphasizing the uniqueness of each birth mother’s experiences. By employing the concepts of obstetric violence, birth trauma, agency, pain, privacy, medical colonization, and positive birth experience, this paper explores the epistemological friction in the notion of maternal care between the indigenous midwives and the traditional Western medical discourse to showcase the relationships among maternal care, obstetric violence, birth trauma, and positive birth experiences. The paper also critiques the novel for its uncritical polarized portrayal of treatments offered by the midwives and physicians
- …
