14 research outputs found
Astha in A Married Woman: Between Duty and Desire
No full textThis paper examines the complex journey of Astha, the main character in Manju Kapur’s “A Married Woman”, as she balances societal expectations and personal interests. The novel depicts the life of an Indian woman, encapsulated in the life of Astha, who transforms from an obedient daughter and dutiful wife into a woman striving for autonomy, emotional fulfilment, and self-expression. When studying the narrative, the author uses feminist literary criticism to analyse how Astha’s emotional conflicts resonate with the structural gender discrimination that persists in India’s societal framework even today.
Drawing on foundational feminist theories by Simone de Beauvoir, Adrienne Rich, bell hooks, and Virginia Woolf, this research contextualizes Astha’s journey within broader discourses on marriage, motherhood, sexuality, and artistic agency. The paper highlights the tensions between tradition and modernity, individuality and conformity, and examines how these dichotomies manifest in Astha’s psyche and personal relationships. Astha’s romantic and sexual relationship with Pipeelika goes beyond self-empowerment, as it serves to confront traditional domesticity and rigid gender constructs, showing radical transformation. This paper emphasizes the critical relevance of the novel “A Married Woman”, including its critique of misogynistic societal frameworks and its celebration of women’s creative imagination and resilience as shaped through women’s agency, solidarity, and self-exploration, by locating it within global feminist thought as well as intertextual literary traditions
Performance of Different Varieties of Spinach Beet (Beta vulgaris var. bengalensis) under Prayagraj Agro-Climatic Condition
No full textA field experiment was carried out at the Department of Horticulture, Naini Agricultural Institute, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh during the Rabi 2021-2022 with a view to determine the performance of different varieties of spinach beet (Beta vulgaris var. bengalensis) for its growth, yield under Prayagraj climate and to work out the economics of various treatments. Under this experiment, overall 7 varieties were sown under tags T1 (Pusa Jyoti), T2 (All Green), T3 (All Green H-1), T4 (Green Iron), T5 (Palak- Ashirwad), T6 (Sudevi Green Spinach), T7 (Supriya) which was laid out in randomized block design (RBD) with three replications. From the present investigation, it was concluded that variety Pusa Jyoti performed best in respect of all parameters specially yield (64.44q/ha) at Prayagraj climatic condition. The benefit-Cost ratio (1.61) of variety Pusa Jyoti was found to be the highest therefore, it can be suggested to farmers to adapt it in cultivation practices
Is under-base filling necessary?: Assessing behaviour of partially installed suction caisson
No full textIn the past decade, suction caissons have emerged as a preferred offshore foundation solution for wind turbines due to their silent installation process and potential for recyclability. However, there has been growing speculation regarding the necessity of under base filling, which involves filling the gap between the top plate of the suction caisson and the seabed. Some experts have suggested that under certain conditions, this under base filling may not be required at all. Furthermore, concerns have been raised about the efficacy of under base filling in achieving full contact between the top plate and the seabed, as it has been observed that gaps may persist even after the filling is applied. Consequently, doubts have been cast on the overall need for under base filling. However, there is limited research focused on understanding the behavior of water plugs in the absence of under base filling, at different loading conditions ( Compression , tension , cyclic etc.). This knowledge gap motivates this thesis study, which aims to investigate the behavior of water plugs specifically in dense sand samples, as sand is considered more critical compared to clay in terms of its variability in drainage conditions that can influence the foundation’s performance. To achieve this, a series of centrifuge tests were conducted on suction caissons that were partially installed and some fully installed. The results of the experiments shed light on the role of under base filling in different loading scenarios. Under monotonic compressive loading at higher rates, it was observed that under base filling played no significant role in the load transfer . Both the caissons with and without under base filling exhibited similar load transfer mechanisms, indicating that filling the gap may not be necessary in such loading conditions. Additionally, under tension loading, it was found that under base filling had little to no effect on the development of tensile capacity. By expanding our understanding of the necessity and effectiveness of under base filling, this study contributes to the ongoing discussion surrounding suction caisson design and installation practices for offshore wind turbine foundations.Geo-Engineerin
Social Networking in Library
No full textAbstract *C. S. Mishra Social networking is a social structure that lets the user interact and work collaboratively with other users, including the ability to browse, search, invite friends to connect and interact with web world. Social software in the web 2.0 world not only enhances the practical usability in the library but also helps the diminishing librarians add value to their profession, given the value or potential of librarian being questioned in the information landscape. In this paper, the author has intended to describe the possible implications of social networking technologies in the field of library and information services in the web 2.0 milieu. In addition, an attempt has been made to illustrate different social software tools and their effective utilization in the social networking environment. Finally, the author has cited some stunning examples of library being run in the world using the web 2.0 technologies, besides making an endeavor to highlight the role of information professionals to carry out the same in the digital library environment. and value of librarians will get a boost. For this, the user needs to be empowered over web 2.0 technologies and services which can be applied for life long learning in the scenario of information landscape. Keywords Social Networking: A Conceptual Approach The term "Social Networking" refers to a range of web-enabled/it-enabled software programs that allow users to interact and work collaboratively with other users. It includes ability to browse, search, invite friends to connect and interact, share film reviews, comments, blog entries, favorites, discussions, events, videos, ratings, music, classified ads, tag and classified information and more. A social network allows individual to join and create a personal profile, then formally connect with other users of the systems as social friend. It can be expressed as social connecting sites among the social user in web 2.0 domain. The potential of social networks to be relevant to information seeking and sharing from the more specialist web 2.0 sites. Social network sites as web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, an
"Time of the Month": A mixed-method study to understand and improve Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management in Rural North India
No full textBackground: Menstruation is a naturally occurring monthly phenomena which affects adolescent girls and women worldwide. The last decade has highlighted how menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is a public health issue because of its link to health, social justice and human rights. Menstruation is considered a taboo topic, related to uncleanliness and impurity around the world. Menstruation related restrictions have shown to increase poor hygiene behaviors, nutritional deficiencies, gender inequality, marginalization and isolation. A Social and Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) intervention called GARIMA was implemented in three districts of Uttar Pradesh, India to improve adequate menstrual behaviors. Therefore, the overarching question of this dissertation asked: Is SBCC an effective approach to improve adequate menstrual behaviors among adolescent girls in rural North India? To answer the overarching question, three research questions were asked: 1) what are the psychometric properties of a menstrual hygiene management scale? 2) What is the relationship between menstrual related restrictions and menstrual health and hygiene management (MHHM)? 3) How does a social and behavioral change communication intervention predict MHHM? Methods: A mixed method approach was used to analyze the overarching question. Interviewer-administered structured questionnaires were completed on tablets to understand MHHM among 2212 adolescent girls in three districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. A total of 36 Focus Group Discussions were conducted with 309 adolescent girls in the three districts. Villages and adolescent girls were matched on socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics in the intervention and comparison sites. Results: MHHM is a multi-dimensional construct comprising of behaviors which are time bound to menstruation (menstrual health) and behaviors which not time bound to menstruation (hygiene management). Drawing from existing conceptual definitions and their operationalization in this research the author defines MHHM as “Access and use of private toilet/bathroom with soap and water to wash hands and have a bath during menstruation and use of clean menstrual management material to absorb or collect blood that is stored in a safe, clean place and changed at least three times a day for the duration of the menstruation period, and accessing facilities to ultimately dispose of used menstrual management materials”. Overall, 27.58% of the adolescent girls practiced all adequate MHHM behaviors. Ninety six percent of adolescent girls stated they faced restrictions during menstruation. In general, not having restrictions had a positive relationship with adequate MHHM behaviors. The results from the evaluation showed that higher encoded exposure (dose and recall of the program) had a direct relationship with adequate MHHM. The evaluation also showed that indirectly, higher encoded exposure predicted higher knowledge about puberty, higher knowledge about reproductive parts, positive attitudes towards gender, better interpersonal communication, and thereafter, adequate MHHM. Conclusions: MHHM is a public health issue which cross-cuts through several sustainable development goals. Findings demonstrated that MHM is a multi-dimensional construct with four independent indicators corresponding to menstrual health (preparation of clean absorbent, storage of clean absorbent, frequency of changing and disposal) and one indicator corresponding to hygiene management. Therefore, the author recommends future research should use the acronym, MHHM. Restrictions were ubiquitous and mostly had a negative relationship with adequate preparation of clean absorbent, adequate storage of clean absorbent, adequate frequency of changing and disposal. A SBCC program directly improved MHHM and indirectly improved knowledge, some attitudes, interpersonal communication and therefore, adequate MHHM. These findings can be used in developing future programs and strengthening future research on MHHM.Dr.P.H., Community Health and Prevention -- Drexel University, 201
Small Core Heterocyclic Carbamates and Carboxamides: Resistance-breaking Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors Targeting the Malaria Mosquito, Anopheles gambiae
No full textMalaria is one of the deadliest diseases known to mankind. In 2010, 219 million cases were reported, and 666,000 deaths were attributed to this disease. In the past, pyrethroid-treated mosquito nets have shown efficacy in reducing malaria transmission in many malaria endemic regions. However, an upsurge in the mosquito population that is resistant to pyrethroids threatens to compromise the efficacy of pyrethroid-treated bed nets. In an effort to develop another class of insecticide with a different mode of action, we have explored three classes of five membered heterocyclic carbamates (isoxazol-3-yl, pyrazol-5-yl, and pyrazol-4-yl), and 3-oxoisoxazole- 2(3H)-carboxamide as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChE) targeting wild type (G3) and resistant (Akron) malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae (Ag). Isoxazole carboxamide and carbamates were obtained regioselectively through judicious use of two different protocols. The final products were characterized and identified using ¹H and ¹³C NMR, and mass spectroscopy. In addition, the carboxamide structure was confirmed using X-ray diffraction. Several of the novel carbamates and carboxamides evaluated exhibited excellent toxicity towards susceptible G3 and resistant Akron strain An. gambiae (48f LC₅₀ G3 = 41 μg/mL, LC₅₀ Akron = 58 μg/mL, and 47i LC₅₀ G3 = 38 μg/mL, LC₅₀ Akron = 40 μg/mL). Hence, achieving the resistance- breaking goal. On the contrary, the commercial aryl methylcarbamates currently approved for indoor residual sprays (IRS) showed no potency towards the resistant strain An. gambiae (LC₅₀ G3 = 16-42 μg/mL, and LC₅₀ Akron >5,000 μg/mL). Further, we observed low toxicological cross-resistance ratios (RR) for the toxic isoxazol-3-yl and pyrazol-4-yl carbamates, and 3- oxoisoxazole-2(3H)-carboxamides (RR = 0.5-2.0). Amongst the commercial AChE inhibitors approved for IRS, only aldicarb exhibited such low RR (RR = 0.5), whereas the RR for commercial aryl methylcarbamates exceed 130-fold. The low RR observed for these novel heterocyclic inhibitors would certainly be favorable for a new anticholinesterase-based mosquitocide targeting both the susceptible and resistant strain mosquitoes. Although the overall selectivity (Ag vs human) did not exceed 24-fold, the heterocyclic carbamates and carboxamides synthesized by the author showed appreciable inhibition of resistant AChE (G119S) in comparison to commercial aryl carbamates, which showed no inhibition at all.
During the course of this project, the isoxazol-3-yl and pyrazol-5-yl methylcarbamates proved to be unstable, and thus could not be isolated. The synthesis of pyrazol-4-yl methylcarbamates using N-methylcarbamoyl chloride proved particularly challenging due to the formation of by-products called allophanates. The similar Rf of the by-product and the desired final product made the isolation laborious and time-consuming. We have successfully overcome this problem by employing a new protocol, where triphosgene served as the carbonylating agent and N-methylamine in THF was used as the amine source. In addition, we have also developed another one-pot protocol for a safer synthesis of pyrazol-4-yl methylcarbamates utilizing 1,1- carbonyldiimidazole (CDI), and N-methylamine hydrogen chloride salt. With the pyrazol-4-yl core, apart from achieving excellent toxicity towards both strains of An. gambiae, we have also achieved excellent AgAChE vs hAChE selectivity (Ag vs h >100-fold). Due to our continued interest in developing this core, we have devised a convenient, scalable, no-column approach for the synthesis an intermediate 103 that can be utilized to synthesize these compounds more efficiently.Ph. D
Ethical Discourse in Science Textbooks A Study of Class 12 Biology Textbook
No full textTextbooks play a pivotal role in informing and educating but sometimes the content presented within a textbook is only partially correct or presents the ideology of the dominant few. This could lead to a distortion of some topics given in the textbook. Sciences bear the onus to inform about the creation and application of a particular technology, which help in enhancing the self-sufficiency of a nation whereas ethics decide the course a particular research takes by analysing its impact on society. Hence, technology sans ethics can lead toward unbridled technological growth which has been disastrous. In order to bolster the relevance and place for ethics in science and technology, the beginning has to be at the level of education. The research questions that guided the present study were, how is this technology component represented in the present science education both in its curriculum and practice, also, whether ethics or ethical principles find a place in the present science curriculum or not. In the light of the above questions, the present paper attempts to analyse the class 12 Biology textbook with respect to the inclusion of ethical issues with respect to some recent biotechnology within it along with teachers’ perceptions about the current textbook of Biology. The study analyses three science and technology issues viz., amniocentesis, in-vitro fertilisation and genetic modification of organisms. A content analysis approach has been adopted for analysing the selected text sample. The paper then elaborates upon the ethical stance taken by the author within the textbook and corroborating it with the relevant ethical theories and modes of inquiry. The findings reveal that the positive impact of the technology component of class 12 Biology textbook is what is being highlighted while neglecting the major debates associated with gender equality, human rights, food safety and other ethical concerns. The in-depth interviews with the teachers unveiled their apprehensiveness in dealing with the ethical issues. Implications are broadly drawn for textbook writers, curriculum developers, policy makers, teachers and teacher educators
Systemic seismic risk assessment of urban healthcare system considering interdependencies to critical infrastructures
No full textData availability:
The authors do not have permission to share data.Code availability:
The coding was done in PYTHON mainly including the NetworkX library along with others for the system analysis. Calculations including hazard and fragility analysis at the component level have been undertaken with the OpenQuake Engine, an open-source software for hazard and risk assessment that is available from: https://github.com/gem/oq-engine. Maps were generated from PYTHON and QGIS.The performance of healthcare and other emergency systems, like firefighting, is of utmost importance in the aftermath of natural disasters such as seismic events. However, previous studies have often overlooked the interconnectedness of emergency systems to other critical infrastructures. In reality, the performance of the healthcare system does not only rely on the vulnerability of hospital buildings, but also on the vulnerability and performance of interdependent critical infrastructures, such as the transportation system for the accessibility of injured people to hospitals from the damaged sites or the continuous supply of water and electricity for the uninterrupted operation of hospital facilities. These interdependencies can significantly impact the overall emergency response effectiveness and is vital to consider them in the design and assessment of healthcare systems to safeguard resilience of the community. This study proposes a comprehensive methodological framework and associated metrics for evaluating and mapping the healthcare system's performance considering its interdependencies with other critical infrastructures. It encompasses hazard characterization, risk assessment at both component and system levels, and network-based analysis with conditional branching to account for first and second order interdependencies. The proposed framework is applied to the healthcare system of Thessaloniki, Greece. The operational tool and insights can help to prioritize ex-ante investments and identify ex-post intervention measures, ensuring an emergency response system on an urban scale within a resilient systemic perspective. Its applicability can be extended to address a spectrum of other hazards and interdependencies at urban and regional scales, to ensure peoples' safety and minimize socioeconomic losses.The present work has been done in the framework of grant agreement No. 813137 fundedby the European Commission ITN-Marie Sklodowska-Curie project “New Challenges for Urban Engineering Seismology (URBASIS-EU)” from which the first author, Astha Poudel, has received the funding
Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospital workers before and after vaccination programme in East Java, Indonesia - A retrospective cohort study
No full textBACKGROUND: The incidence of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) among healthcare workers (HCWs) is widespread. It is important to understand COVID-19 characteristics among HCWs before and after vaccination. We evaluated the incidence of COVID-19 among HCWs in East Java, Indonesia comparing the characteristics of the disease between the pre- vs post-vaccination periods. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted among HCWs in two major hospitals in East Java, Indonesia, between April 01, 2020, and Oct 31, 2021. All HCWs were offered vaccination with inactivated viral vaccine (CoronaVac) from Jan 15, 2021. Therefore, we divided the time of the study into the pre-vaccination period (between April 01, 2020, and Jan 14, 2021) and post-vaccination period (between Jan 15 and Oct 31, 2021). We then compared the pattern of COVID-19 infections, and hospitalisations between these periods. FINDINGS: A total of 434 (15.1%) and 649 (22.6%) SARS-CoV-2 infections were reported among study participants (n=2,878) during the pre-vaccination and post-vaccination periods, respectively. The vaccine effectiveness was 73.3% during the first 3-4 months after vaccination but this decreased to 17.6% at 6-7 months after vaccination, which coincided with the emergence of the delta variant. The overall hospitalisation rate was reduced from 23.5% in the pre-vaccination period to 14.3% in the post-vaccination period. Hypertension appeared to be the strongest risk factor affecting hospitalisation in the pre-vaccination period. However, the risk due to hypertension was reduced in the post-vaccination period. INTERPRETATION: The risk to contract COVID-19 remains high among HCWs in East Java, Indonesia. Vaccination is important to reduce infection and hospitalisation. It is essentially important to evaluate the characteristics of COVID-19 infection, hospitalisation, the impact of co-morbidities and vaccine effectiveness in order to improve the measures applied in protecting HCWs during the pandemic. FUNDING: Mandate Research Grant No:1043/UN3.15/PT/2021, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesi
A non-specialist worker delivered digital assessment of cognitive development (DEEP) in young children: A longitudinal validation study in rural India
No full textCognitive development in early childhood is critical for life-long well-being. Existing cognitive development surveillance tools require lengthy parental interviews and observations of children. Developmental Assessment on an E-Platform (DEEP) is a digital tool designed to address this gap by providing a gamified, direct assessment of cognition in young children which can be delivered by front-line providers in community settings. This longitudinal study recruited children from the SPRING trial in rural Haryana, India. DEEP was administered at 39 (SD 1; N = 1359), 60 (SD 5; N = 1234) and 95 (SD 4; N = 600) months and scores were derived using item response theory. Criterion validity was examined by correlating DEEP-score with age, Bayley's Scales of Infant Development (BSID-III) cognitive domain score at age 3 and Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) at age 8; predictive validity was examined by correlating DEEP-scores at preschool-age with academic performance at age 8 and convergent validity through correlations with height-for-age z-scores (HAZ), socioeconomic status (SES) and early life adversities. DEEP-score correlated strongly with age (r = 0.83, 95% CI 0.82 0.84) and moderately with BSID-III (r = 0.50, 0.39 - 0.60) and CPM (r = 0.37; 0.30 - 0.44). DEEP-score at preschool-age predicted academic outcomes at school-age (0.32; 0.25 - 0.41) and correlated positively with HAZ and SES and negatively with early life adversities. DEEP provides a valid, scalable method for cognitive assessment. It's integration into developmental surveillance programs could aid in monitoring and early detection of cognitive delays, enabling timely interventions. [Abstract copyright: Copyright: © 2025 Bhavnani et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
