1,579 research outputs found
Tariff andtax reform : do World Bank recommendations integrate revenue and protection objectives?
No full textTariff reform aimed at reducing domestic protection and the bias against exports holds the threat of widening the fiscal deficit by causing tariff revenue to decline. Because the success of an adjustment program depends critically on the correction of fiscal imbalances to achieve stabilization, tariff reforms must be coordinated with tax policy recommendations to develop alternative revenue sources. Conversely, the tariff reforms must eliminate the protective elements of domestic tax structures if they are to truly achieve their protection objectives. Rajaram reviews the extent to which the Bank's analysis and tariff recommendations in twelve countries (Bangladesh, Ghana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malawi, Morocco, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, Zaire, and Zambia) reflected such an integrated framework. He focuses on (1) the revenue impact of tariff reform, (2) the effect of domestic indirect taxes on protection, and (3) the structure of protection. The review is admittedly selective and the attempt is to capture the reasoning behind"typical"Bank recommendations. Rajaram finds that the quality of analysis underlying Bank recommendations in this regard is highly uneven. The following broad conclusions are indicated: (1) revenue concerns are often not adequately addressed in the design of tariff proposals, (2) the protective effect of domestic indirect taxes is often not recognized and thus not incorporated into the reform of the structure of protection, and (3) although there is little consensus on a desirable tariff structure, in a few cases the Bank has recommended a uniform nominal tariff. This could be seen as the logical culmination of attempts to narrow the range of tariffs.Environmental Economics&Policies,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Economic Theory&Research,Export Competitiveness
Synthesis of Hydroxyapatite from natural sources for biomedical applications – An overview
No full textThe research hypothesis is mainly focused on the synthesis of hydroxyapatite from biowaste materials. Different methods were used for the synthesis of hydroxyapatite. The synthesized hydroxyapatite was characterized by different techniques such as FTIR, XRD, SEM, EDAX, and microbial studies and whether this material suitable for biomedical applications or not. From these studies, the following parameter was found out like Ca/P ratio, crystallinity, particle sizes, and morphology of the synthesized particles. In this review paper we gave collective information regarding what are the methods used for the synthesise of hydroxyapatite and how to characterize the sample with different techniques and which will be useful for the researcher who has to do the research in the same field. With this idea they can easily synthesize the expecting bioceramic from waste material and how it would be applicable for the biomedical application
Diversity of Butterflies on Rajaram College Campus, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India
No full textThe present study was carried out to understand the butterfly diversity and abundance in Rajaram College, Campus from November 2022 to March 2023 and November 2023 to March 2024. A total 28 species of butterflies belonging to 24 genera and four families were recorded from the present study. From the observed butterflies, the family Nymphalidae was the most dominant among the four families with 14 species, followed by Lycaenidae (07), Papilionidae (04) and Pieridae (03). The present study added valuable information on the diversity of butterfly fauna and will contribute to developing effective conservation
Design thinking principles for leadership competency development
No full textIn this quasi-experimental study, we tested an evidence-based learning activity designed to have students internalize the importance of empathy and its effect on a field work report (“Reflective Learning Project”) that they have attempted. 33 consented participants from an undergraduate management course were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 different conditions, namely design thinking (active) (“DT-A”), design thinking (passive) (“DT-P”), functions of management (active) (“FM-A”) and functions of management (passive) (“FM-P”) where they are required to complete a voluntary online activity. After reading the relevant materials, students assigned to DT-A and FM-A conditions were asked to write a letter to help a student solve an ambiguous management problem and students under DT¬P and FM-P conditions were asked to summarise their learning. Thereafter, students who went through these sequences were measured on their display of empathy in the Reflective Learning Project they submitted. There are no concrete outcomes deduced due to limitations faced as a pilot run. However, we found that students who went through the design thinking (active) and functions of management (active) sequences displayed higher empathy than the students who went through design thinking (passive) and functions of management (passive). Our future studies will attempt to find ways to attract 4-5 times more participants so as to examine and report more tangible outcomes from the analysis.Ministry of Education (MOE)Published versionThe principal investigator and author, Dr. Rajaram wishes to acknowledge that this Tertiary Education Research Fund project is funded by Ministry of Education, Singapore
NGS data related to Rajaram et al.: Allele specific DNA demethylation ...
No full textMethod overview
To achieve targeted locus and allele-specific DNA demethylation, HEK293 cells were transfected with two plasmids. One plasmid contains, dCas9 fused to a SunTag with five repeats of the GCN4 peptide, separated by 22 aa long linkers, and scFv-fused TET1CD, as well as a GFP reporter protein. The other plasmid is a multiguide plasmid with 4 individual sgRNAs flanked by U6 promoter and gRNA scaffold, and a DsRed fluorophore. Control experiments were conducted with a scrambled sgRNA that does not have a binding site in the human genome. Initial studies showed that cells positive for two plasmids exhibited detectable fluorescence of the corresponding reporter proteins on day 3 post-transfection. Hence, FACS sorting was conducted at this time point. A part of the sorted cells was used immediately for downstream analysis, the other part was re-seeded to harvest at later time points.
For DNA methylation analysis, genomic DNA was isolated from the cell samples and subjected to bisulfite treatment. Library preparation was performed using the bisulfite-converted samples, followed by NGS and data analysis. All methylation experiments were conducted in three independent biological replicates.
For measurement of the genomic allele frequencies, genomic DNA of the untreated samples was used for the amplification of the region around the target SNP and an exonic region with additional SNP for each target, which was followed by library preparation, NGS and data analysis.
To monitor the variation in the expression of the target genes, RNA was isolated from the treated cells on Day 6. cDNA synthesized from the isolated RNA was used for the library preparation of the exonic region. The library was subjected to NGS followed by data analysis.
All experiments were conducted in three independent biological replicates.
Method details
The gDNA of transfected HEK293 cells sorted by FACS was extracted using QIAmp DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen). 500 ng of genomic DNA was subjected to overnight digestion with EcoRV which is not cutting in any of the target amplicons. Zymo EZ DNA Methylation-Lightning Kit (D5030-E) was used for bisulfite conversion. The library for NGS was prepared by two consecutive PCR reactions (Leitao et al, 2018). Firstly, bisulfite converted genomic DNA of each sample was amplified with target gene specific primers. The gene specific optimized amount of a product from the first PCR was used as a template for the second PCR to add the Illumina TruSeq sequencing adapters. Final products were quantified, pooled in equimolar amounts and purified using SPRIselect beads (Beckman Coulter). Ready-to-use pools of libraries were sequenced on NovaSeq 6000 using a PE250 flow cell (Novogene).
For expression analysis, RNA was isolated from the sorted cells using Qiagen RNeasy extraction kit (Cat. No. 74034). By an additional treatment with TURBO DNA-free™ Kit (Ambion #AM1907) the residual genomic DNA from the samples were removed. 500 ng of the DNase-free RNA was used for cDNA synthesis with Applied Biosystems- High-Capacity cDNA Reverse Transcription Kit (Cat No 4368814). NRT was used as a negative control for cDNA synthesis, where the reaction was conducted without addition of the reverse transcriptase enzyme. In addition, NTC (no template control) reactions were included. The transcripts were subjected to library preparation in a two-step PCR process as mentioned above. For amplification of the genomic regions, 10 ng of the isolated genomic DNA was used. Two-step library preparation was carried out for NGS of genomic regions.
All NGS data were obtained in the form of FASTQ files.
Data analysis
NGS data in a FASTQ format was analyzed as described (Rajaram et al., 2023) on the Galaxy platform (https://usegalaxy.org/) (The Galaxy platform for accessible, reproducible and collaborative biomedical analyses, 2022), where all the following tools are available. First, Illumina adapter sequences were removed using Trim Galore!. Afterwards, two paired-end reads were merged using Pear and reads with low quality were removed with Filter FASTQ. All NGS data files were subjected to this processing.
For quantitative analysis of the methylation at individual CpG sites, the following steps were carried out. De-multiplexing of individual samples tagged with combinations of barcodes and Illumina indices was done by converting the FASTQ files using FASTQ to Tabular, followed by selection of lines with the tool Select and re-conversion of the files to a FASTQ format with Tabular to FASTQ. For the alignment of reads to a reference sequence, bwameth was used and the DNA methylation at each CpG site was analyzed by applying the tool MethylDackel. The output files were processed using Microsoft Excel.
For the analysis of the allelic ratios of the transcript and genomic region, de-multiplexing of individual samples tagged with combinations of barcodes and Illumina indices was done by converting the FASTQ files using FASTQ to Tabular, followed by selection of lines with the tool Select. Input for the selection of lines was provided in accordance to the SNP of interest. Output of the tool Select provides the number of reads corresponding to each allele.
References
The Galaxy platform for accessible, reproducible and collaborative biomedical analyses: 2022 update. Nucleic acids research 2022, 50, W345-W351, doi: 10.1093/nar/gkac247
Rajaram, N.; Kouroukli, A.G.; Bens, S.; Bashtrykov, P.; Jeltsch, A. Development of super-specific epigenome editing by targeted allele-specific DNA methylation. Epigenetics Chromatin 2023, 16, 41, doi: 10.1186/s13072-023-00515-5</a
Social-psychological interventions for cognitive empathy as leadership ability development in business students
No full textTo be a transformational leader, one has to possess cognitive empathy. Based on findings from psychology and promising results from our pilot study conducted with undergraduate management students, we have designed a novel methodology which develops students’ cognitive empathy through the use of a social-psychological intervention. In order to enhance their cognitive empathy, this intervention exposes students to design thinking methodologies which emphasises the use of one’s empathy. Furthermore, the intervention is adequate enough not to disrupt the precious class time that has been dedicated to content teaching. The goal of this project is to provide a model for developing non-content based learning outcomes, relevant activities, and the measures that connect those activities to the outcomes. The project has been pilot-tested on about 80 students in two course sections of the focal course. We will expand the study to all 400 students in the course and eventually to other programmes.Ministry of Education (MOE)The principal investigator and author, Dr. Rajaram would like to acknowledge that this Tertiary Education Research Fund (TRF) project is funded by Ministry of Education, Singapore
Measuring the possibilities of interfuel substitution
No full textWhat are the costs of making consumption of production activities use less-polluting fuels? The author reviews how the fuel mix used by different industries has changed over time and examines 2 techniques for estimating the responsiveness of fuel demand to fuel prices: econometric models and the engineering approach. With econometric models, the elasticity of substitution between energy and other inputs determines the costs of making activities less energy-intensive, while the elasticity of substitution between sources of energy (interfuel substitutability) determines the marginal costs of replacing one energy source with another. The engineering approach uses more detailed technical information and can draw a more complete picture, but with less ability to inform about activities with a vast number of different economic agents. Among the author's main conclusions: There are surprisingly large variations in energy and fuel use over time and between countries. Industrial output increased 62 percent in OECD countries between 1971 and 1988, for example, while energy use stayed unchanged. Also, shares of energy sources for industry and electricity vary greatly with local availablity, indicating that these sectors have some flexibility in choice of energy source. A judgment on whether this variability indicates that an economy responds cheaply if energy prices are changed selectively depends on how one reads the more detailed studies in the econometric and engineering literature. Lack of data is the biggest problem in estimating fuel and energy substitutability in non-OECD countries. Engineering studies of fuel switching in industry are rarely available. They exist, however, for the power industry and could be used to estimate the costs of alternative fuel-mixes for particular greenfield sites. The technique could not be used for assessment of economywide policies. Econometric studies are useful inasmuch as they take a sector- or economywide perspective. Econometric techniques are challenging, but often represent the state of the art in providing reliable estimates for elasticies of substitution - particularly when data are scarce and the level of aggregation is high. The issue of whether econometrically estimated structural parameters can be transferred across borders has not been thoroughly investigated.Oil Refining&Gas Industry,Transport and Environment,Energy and Poverty Alleviation,Energy and Environment,Airports and Air Services
N-acetylneuraminic acid: A scrutinizing tool in oral squamous cell carcinoma diagnosis
No full textBackground: Oral cancer has one of the highest mortality rate among other malignancies. An attempt has been made to assess the genetic expression of a cell surface glycoprotein component - sialic acid released by the malignant cells which will reflect on the oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The aim of this study was to estimate and correlate the salivary and serum sialic acid levels in OSCC.
Materials and Methods: In our case–control study, saliva and blood samples were obtained from Group 1 - 10 healthy controls, Group 2 - 12 well-differentiated OSCC, Group 3 - 7 moderately differentiated and 2 poorly differentiated OSCC. Serum and salivary total sialic acid levels were analyzed by Warren's thiobarbituric acid method and acidic ninhydrin method, respectively. The results were analyzed statistically by Student's t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient (P ≤ 0.05).
Results: A significant difference in the serum and salivary sialic acid levels was observed between Group 1 and Group 3 (P = 0.01 and < 0.0001) and in salivary sialic acid between Group 2 and Group 3 (P = 0.02). A significant positive correlation was observed between salivary and serum sialic acid in Groups 2 and 3 together (P = 0.015).
Conclusion: As the histopathological grade progresses, there is a marked increase in level of sialic acid. There is a significant positive correlation between serum and salivary sialic acid levels in OSCC. Further research with larger sample size along with grading and staging system may highlight its significance in OSCC
Using design thinking to promote displays of cognitive empathy in undergraduates
No full textWe conducted a quasi-experimental study within two sections of an undergraduate business course. 62 undergraduates completed an optional course activity based on social psychological principles during the fourth week of the semester. Students in the Design Thinking condition received text and videos highlighting the design thinking process and the importance of empathy. Students in the Management condition received materials highlighting the main concepts of the course. Students in both conditions were then asked to write a letter advising a prospective university student how to deal with a management issue.
Three weeks later, students submitted an individual assignment that addressed unethical behaviour by one of two corporations. Students in the Design Thinking condition were three times more likely to display signs of cognitive empathy in their plans than students in the Management condition. Students in the Design Thinking condition also showed a more of a balance when selecting between the two corporations.Ministry of Education (MOE)Published versionThe principal investigator and co-author, Dr. Rajaram would like to acknowledge that this Tertiary Education Research Fund (TRF) project is funded by Ministry of Education, Singapore
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