225 research outputs found
Merchants of Virtue
No full textMerchants of Virtue explores the question of what it meant to be Hindu in precolonial South Asia. Divya Cherian presents a fine-grained study of everyday life and local politics in the kingdom of Marwar in eighteenth-century western India to uncover how merchants enforced their caste ideals of vegetarianism and bodily austerity as universal markers of Hindu identity. Using legal strategies and alliances with elites, these merchants successfully remade the category of “Hindu,” setting it in contrast to “Untouchable” in a process that reconfigured Hinduism in caste terms. In a history pertinent to understanding India today, Cherian establishes the centrality of caste to the early-modern Hindu self and to its imagination of inadmissible others.
“A refreshingly different perspective on the history of caste and untouchability in India, enlarging the field of scholarship from its focus on the colonial era by telling us how precolonial configurations of power in the locality shaped the everyday experience of caste.” — GOPAL GURU, coauthor of The Cracked Mirror and Experience, Caste, and the Everyday Social
“This provocative and empirically rich study offers a plenitude of fascinating insights into aspects of western Indian history ca. 1800, from kingship and caste hierarchy to abortion and alcohol consumption. Particularly innovative is its focus on the critical role played by merchants in articulating social identities that became widespread in modern times.” — CYNTHIA TALBOT, author of The Last Hindu Emperor
“A pathbreaking book that explodes essentialist views of the construction of Hindu and Muslim identities in precolonial India. Divya Cherian provocatively argues that the category of ‘Hindu’ was the primary locus for a system of radical othering that excluded Untouchables (and Muslims as Untouchables) through mechanisms of state, law, and everyday life.” — CHRISTIAN LEE NOVETZKE, Professor of South Asian and Religious Studies, University of Washingto
Merchants of Virtue
No full textMerchants of Virtue explores the question of what it meant to be Hindu in precolonial South Asia. Divya Cherian presents a fine-grained study of everyday life and local politics in the kingdom of Marwar in eighteenth-century western India to uncover how merchants enforced their caste ideals of vegetarianism and bodily austerity as universal markers of Hindu identity. Using legal strategies and alliances with elites, these merchants successfully remade the category of “Hindu,” setting it in contrast to “Untouchable” in a process that reconfigured Hinduism in caste terms. In a history pertinent to understanding India today, Cherian establishes the centrality of caste to the early-modern Hindu self and to its imagination of inadmissible others.
“A refreshingly different perspective on the history of caste and untouchability in India, enlarging the field of scholarship from its focus on the colonial era by telling us how precolonial configurations of power in the locality shaped the everyday experience of caste.” — GOPAL GURU, coauthor of The Cracked Mirror and Experience, Caste, and the Everyday Social
“This provocative and empirically rich study offers a plenitude of fascinating insights into aspects of western Indian history ca. 1800, from kingship and caste hierarchy to abortion and alcohol consumption. Particularly innovative is its focus on the critical role played by merchants in articulating social identities that became widespread in modern times.” — CYNTHIA TALBOT, author of The Last Hindu Emperor
“A pathbreaking book that explodes essentialist views of the construction of Hindu and Muslim identities in precolonial India. Divya Cherian provocatively argues that the category of ‘Hindu’ was the primary locus for a system of radical othering that excluded Untouchables (and Muslims as Untouchables) through mechanisms of state, law, and everyday life.” — CHRISTIAN LEE NOVETZKE, Professor of South Asian and Religious Studies, University of Washingto
Improved collision detection in StarLogo Nova
No full textThesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2015.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (page 65).StarLogo Nova is blocks-based educational software that allows students to write and play their own 3D games online. It is the online version of StarLogo TNG. This thesis explores the problem of needing more accurate collision detection in StarLogo Nova while maintaining reasonable performance. Three new collision detection systems for StarLogo Nova are developed and evaluated. Compared to the spheres used to perform collision checks in the current system, the first new system, called the TightestFitCollider, introduces a variety of bounding spheres, bounding boxes, and bounding capsules as bounding structures that may fit the models in StarLogo Nova more closely. The second system, called the HierarchicalCollider, uses hierarchies of bounding boxes to perform even more precise collision detection than the TightestFitCollider. Finally, the third system combines the first two systems, so that the advantages of each can be used as appropriate. The three systems are evaluated for their accuracy and performance within the StarLogo Nova framework.by Divya Bajekal.M. Eng
Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Industrial Dye by g-C3N4/TiO2 Nanocomposite: Role of Shape of TiO2
No full textEnhanced photodegradation of RhB dye by using synthesized g-C3N4/TiO2 nanocomposite having different shapes of TiO2, showing role of shape of TiO2 in photodegradation has been demonstrated in this present work. As TiO2 has a wide band gap of 3.2 eV and utilize energy of radiations of only UV region of light, so has some limitations as a photocatalyst. To improve the photocatalytic efficiency of TiO2 we have incorporated g-C3N4, a visible light active photocatalyst. The TiO2 nanoparticles with different shapes (Nanorods, Nanospheres, and Nanotubes) were prepared by different methods. The g-C3N4 was prepared by pyrolysis of Urea. The g-C3N4/TiO2 composites were prepared by stirring g-C3N4and pre-synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles. The ratio of g-C3N4 and TiO2 nanoparticles is 1:1. On performing photocatalytic experiment we have found that the degradation of RhB dye under visible light irradiation has been increased remarkably upon incorporation of g-C3N4 with different shapes of TiO2. Also, shape of TiO2 has a remarkable effect in photodegradation. The best degradation performance of ∼97% was obtained from g-C3N4/TiO2 (Nanorods) composite. Although, degradation efficiency of composite of other shapes of TiO2 (Nanospheres and Nanotubes) with g-C3N4 were also found to be greater than that of g-C3N4/TiO2 (P25) composite. Results from UV–Vis absorption study, X-ray Diffraction studies, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy suggest that the improvement in photocatalytic activity of composite is due to decrease in band gap energy and increased light absorption in visible region. Also there is an increase in electron hole separation efficiency due to effectual interfacial transfer of electron between g-C3N4 and TiO2 (NR, NS, NT) of g-C3N4/TiO2 composites. The BET surface area analyzer, HRTEM, FESEM and Electron Diffraction studies with Color mapping indicate successful incorporation of g-C3N4 with TiO2 in the composites. Results from scavenger study indicate that electron and superoxide ions act as main reactive species in photodegradation of RhB dye by the composite
Antiepileptic drugs for the primary and secondary prevention of seizures after subarachnoid haemorrhage
No full textBackground: subarachnoid haemorrhage may result in seizures both acutely and in the longer term. The use of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in the primary and secondary prevention of seizures after subarachnoid haemorrhage is uncertain, and there is currently no consensus on treatment.Objectives: to assess the effects of AEDs for the primary and secondary prevention of seizures after subarachnoid haemorrhage.Search methods: we searched the Cochrane Epilepsy Group Specialised Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (2013, Issue 1) in The Cochrane Library, and MEDLINE (1946 to 12th March 2013). We checked the reference lists of articles retrieved from these searches.Selection criteria: we considered all randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials in which patients were assigned to a treatment (one or more AEDs) or placebo.Data collection and analysis: two review authors (RM and JK) independently screened and assessed the methodological quality of the studies. If studies were included, one author extracted the data and the other checked it.Main results: no relevant studies were found.Authors' conclusions: there was no evidence to support or refute the use of antiepileptic drugs for the primary or secondary prevention of seizures related to subarachnoid haemorrhage. Well-designed randomised controlled trials are urgently needed to guide clinical practice
Does level of physical activity influence tobacco use behaviour among youth? A cross-sectional survey from India
No full textBackground
Tobacco use and physical inactivity are major risk factors for Non Communicable
Diseases (NCDs). Adequate physical activities keep one healthy but sedentary
life style may contribute to other unhealthy practices like indulging in
tobacco use. There is a need to identify if and how the two risk factors are
interrelated so as to address them more strategically. The present study was
undertaken to assess the level of physical activity and to identify its
association with tobacco use among college going youth in a jurisdiction of
North India.
Methods
Data on physical activity and tobacco use was collected from 500
students aged 18-24 years studying in different professional and
nonprofessional colleges of a Union Territory of Chandigarh, India through multistage simple random sampling using
self-administered standardized questionnaires (Global Adult Tobacco Survey, Fagerstorm Addiction Scale, Global Physical Activity Questionnaire).
Results
Around 12.8% (n=64) were physically inactive, 10% (n=50)
were active and 76.2% (n=381) were highly active. Females (15.8%) were more
inactive as compared to males (12.1%). Highly active respondents were seen more
in 18-20 years age group (77.6%) as compared to 20-22 years age group (76.1%). The prevalence of tobacco use was 20.2%. It was observed that odds of consuming
tobacco was significantly lower in physically active respondents as compared to
inactive respondents (p value < 0.05). Further, higher odds of smoking was
observed among younger age groups, females and non-professionals as compared to
their counterparts.
Conclusions
NCDs are emerging as a big threat among youth. Our findings indicate a
significant relationship between physical activity and tobacco use among youth thus underscoring the need of promoting physical activity among youth to curb tobacco
use. Regular physical activity and counselling sessions for discouraging tobacco use should be integrated with academic curriculum so as to achieve Goal-3 of Sustainable Development Goals
Economics of Smokeless Tobacco (SLT) in India
No full textDespite the high prevalence of Smokeless Tobacco (SLT) in India, cost-effective interventions to curb smokeless tobacco use are very low. Taxation is considered as one of the most cost-effective intervention to curb overall tobacco use but taxation on SLT product is very complex and is on ad-valorem basis. Further, Goods and Service Tax has increased the price from 0.8/gram to 1.06/gram, but still the impact of increasing the tax needs to be explored so that harmony between excise revenue generated from these products and decrease in demand of these products can be maintained. Therefore, we carried out a literature review, which involved literature search, data extraction, and synthesis. The evidence suggests that the price elasticity of SLT products has gone closer to the inelastic nature with the passing time suggesting the increasing affordability of these products. The macroeconomic impact of the disease burden resulting from these SLT products is far greater than excise revenue generated by these products. More research is required in this field with updated data. The agricultural aspect of SLT products also need to be explored to determine cost-effective alternative crops for tobacco farming. Also, as the use of SLT is culturally accepted in India, appropriate public awareness program and cost-effective interventions are required to curb SLT use along with increased tax and cessation services
Does level of physical activity influence tobacco use behaviour among youth? A cross-sectional survey from India
No full text
Magnetic resonance imaging of the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO₂)
No full textThesis (Ph. D.)--Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, 2010.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-128).Oxygen consumption is an essential process of the functioning brain. The rate at which the brain consumes oxygen is known as the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO₂). CMRO₂ is intimately related to brain health and function, and will change in settings of disease and functional activation. Accurate CMRO₂ measurement will enable detailed investigation of neuropathology and facilitate our understanding of the brain's underlying functional architecture. Despite the importance of CMRO₂ in both clinical and basic neuroscience settings, a robust CMRO₂ mapping technique amenable to functional and clinical MRI has not been established. To address this issue, a novel method called QUantitative Imaging of eXtraction of Oxygen and TIssue Consumption, or QUIXOTIC, is introduced. The key innovation in QUIXOTIC is the use of velocity-selective spin labeling to isolate MR signal exclusively from post-capillary venular blood on a voxel-by-voxel basis. This isolated signal can be related to venular oxygen saturation, oxygen extraction fraction, and ultimately CMRO₂. This thesis first explores fundamental theory behind the QUIXOTIC technique, including design of a novel MRI pulse sequence, explanation of the principal sequence parameters, and results from initial human experiences. A human trial follows, in which QUIXOTIC is used to measure cortical gray matter CMRO₂ in ten healthy volunteers.(cont.) QUIXOTIC-measured CMRO₂ is found to be within the expected physiological range and is comparable to values reported by other techniques. QUIXOTIC is then applied to evaluate CMRO₂ response to carbon-dioxide-induced hypercapnia in awake humans. In this study, CMRO₂ is observed to decrease in response to mild hypercapnia. Finally, pilot studies that show feasibility of QUIXOTIC-based functional MRI (fMRI) and so-called "turbo" QUIXOTIC are presented and discussed.by Divya Sanam Bolar.Ph.D
- …
