The homeless of urban India under COVID‐19 lockdown: Rethinking their rights and the role of public policy

Bhattacharjee Sujayita 한국사회복지학회 2023 Asian Social Work and Policy Review Vol.17 No.3

Homelessness comes with a slew of challenges and a never‐ending struggle for survival. This study examines the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on the homeless population of urban India. The study reflects on the experiences of the homeless in the major cities of India during the first wave of the pandemic as well as explores the aspect of their rights and the role of government policy in this regard. The methodology of the study is qualitative in nature, where secondary data collected from various sources such as news articles, blogs, books, journals, and reports are put to analysis for deriving the findings. The study reveals the sufferings of the homeless in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai. Their fight is not merely with the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus but also with hunger, unemployment, and neglect faced by them. The study highlights the fact that their rights are being compromised due to drawbacks relating to policy implementation. The study concludes with certain suggestions such as, addressing the loopholes in policy implementations and creating sustainable livelihood opportunities.

Non-mulberry silk fibroin grafted PCL nanofibrous scaffold: Promising ECM for bone tissue engineering

Bhattacharjee, Promita,Naskar, Deboki,Kim, Hae-Won,Maiti, Tapas K.,Bhattacharya, Debasis,Kundu, Subhas C. Elsevier 2015 European polymer journal Vol.71 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>A comparative study of nanofibrous scaffolds with inclusion of nonmulberry silk protein fibroin is presented for application in bone tissue engineering. Introduction of silk fibroin into the scaffolds is carried out in two ways: by electrospinning blend of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and by grafting fibroin on aminolyzed electrospun nanofibrous PCL. Verification of aminolysis was provided by confocal laser microscopy of rhodamine B isothiocyanate tagged substrates. Absorbance spectroscopy of the products of the reaction between NH<SUB>2</SUB> groups and ninhydrin was used for quantification of aminolysis. Presence of nitrogen on the substrates was established using energy dispersive X-ray while scanning electron microscopy was used to substantiate their nanofibrous morphology. Evaluation of ATR-FTIR results showed that secondary structure of fibroin was preserved in the respective substrates. Presence of fibroin improves hydrophilicity, measured by dynamic contact angle, and surface roughness, topography viewed by atomic force microscopy. These characteristics support cell growth and proliferation. The mechanical strength of the scaffolds is enhanced due to presence of fibroin. Different biophysical characterizations indicate better hydrophilicity, higher nitrogen content, and higher surface roughness of the fibroin grafted scaffolds. Both fibroin-grafted and fibroin-blended scaffolds successfully support activity and viability of human osteoblast like cells. Cell cycle analysis, alkaline phosphatase assay and Alizarin red S staining are used to substantiate cell cycle pattern, proliferation and resultant neo-matrix generation on the scaffolds respectively. The results show that fibroin grafted matrices are better at supporting cell adhesion, growth, and proliferation. The findings demonstrate advantages of fibroin blended and grafted matrices for use in bone tissue engineering applications.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Silk fibroin from <I>Antheraea mylitta</I> was included in nanofibrous PCL matrices. </LI> <LI> Inclusion was carried out either by grafting or by blending the fibroin. </LI> <LI> Inclusion of fibroin improved strength and biocompatibility of the matrices. </LI> <LI> Fibroin grafted matrices were comparatively more biocompatible. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Translocation of VP1686 Upregulates RhoB and Accelerates Phagocytic Activity of Macrophage Through Actin Remodeling

( Bhattacharjee Rabindra N. ),( Kwon Sam Park ),( Xiu Hao Chen ),( Tetsuya Iida ),( Takeshi Honda ),( Osamu Takeuchi ),( Shizuo Akira ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2008 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.18 No.1

Here, we report that Vibrio parahaemolyticus induces a rapid remodeling of macrophage actin and activates RhoB GTPase. Mutational analysis revealed that the effects depend on type III secretion system 1 regulated translocation of a V. parahaemolyticus effector protein, VP1686, into the macrophages. Remodeling of actin is shown to be necessary for increased bacterial uptake followed by initiation of apoptosis in macrophages. This provides evidence for functional association of the VP1686 in triggering an eatme-and-die signal to the host.

Purification of a Trypsin Inhibitor from Cocculus hirsutus and Identification of Its Biological Activity

Bhattacharjee, Chumki,Manjunath, Nagenahalli Huchappa,Prasad, Doddananjappa Theertha 한국작물학회 2009 Journal of crop science and biotechnology Vol.12 No.4

Proteinase inhibitors play a significant role in plant defense against insect pests and phytopathogens by inhibiting their proteases. A thermotolerant monomeric trypsin inhibitor with molecular weight ~18kD was purified from Cocculus hirsutus (ChTI) using trypsin sepharose affinity column. Western blot analysis using ChTI IgY revealed its presence in vegetative parts and seeds. The second and third instar larvae of H.armigera fed with ChTI (5000TIU/ml) resulted in 84.59 and 58.71% reduction in mean larval weight respectively. An increase in the larval growth period was observed in ChTI fed larvae at all instars and inhibitor fed larvae could not complete their life cycle. ChTI caused 74 and 59.53% inhibition of bovine trypsin and Helicoverpa gut proteases respectively. ChTI exhibited strain specificity and inhibited growth and development of plant fungal pathogens. Bioassay studies on yeast strains indicated that ${\Delta}YNK$ and MNN1 are more sensitive to ChTI. The results suggest that phosphodiester linkage in cell wall components is likely to be the key determinants for binding of ChTI. Taken together, these studies indicate that ChTI is a potential candidate for development of transgenic plants against foliar diseases and insect pests.

Effect of graphite particulate on mechanical properties of glass fibre reinforced composite

Bhattacharjee, Antara,Roy, Kanchan,Nanda, B.K. The Society for Aerospace System Engineering 2020 International Journal of Aerospace System Engineer Vol.7 No.1

The recent trend is increasing towards the usage of polymer matrix composites since they have a wide variety of applications. They have applications in the field of aircraft and space industry, sporting goods, medical devices, marine and automotive applications and also in commercial usage. The most commonly used fibre-reinforced polymer matrix composite is Glass fibre reinforced epoxy (GFRE) composite which is used in aviation, sports and automotive industries. However, the strength of GFRE composites is not adequate for structural applications. Therefore, the current research focuses on increasing the strength of GFRE composites by reinforcing with micro Graphite (Gr) particulates. The Gr used is an ultra-fine powder with particle size 250 ㎛. Gr is known to have good wear resistance, thermal conductivity and can operate at high temperatures. Gr particulates are mixed with the epoxy matrix in various weight ratios. Hand-lay technique is used for fabricating the composites. Mechanical properties such as tensile strength, elongation, compressive strength and flexural strength are obtained experimentally to study the effect of change in Gr content (0-5 wt. %). The tests were done as per ASTM standards.

Multichannel Convolution Neural Network Classification for the Detection of Histological Pattern in Prostate Biopsy Images

Bhattacharjee, Subrata,Prakash, Deekshitha,Kim, Cho-Hee,Choi, Heung-Kook Korea Multimedia Society 2020 멀티미디어학회논문지 Vol.23 No.12

The analysis of digital microscopy images plays a vital role in computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) and prognosis. The main purpose of this paper is to develop a machine learning technique to predict the histological grades in prostate biopsy. To perform a multiclass classification, an AI-based deep learning algorithm, a multichannel convolutional neural network (MCCNN) was developed by connecting layers with artificial neurons inspired by the human brain system. The histological grades that were used for the analysis are benign, grade 3, grade 4, and grade 5. The proposed approach aims to classify multiple patterns of images extracted from the whole slide image (WSI) of a prostate biopsy based on the Gleason grading system. The Multichannel Convolution Neural Network (MCCNN) model takes three input channels (Red, Green, and Blue) to extract the computational features from each channel and concatenate them for multiclass classification. Stain normalization was carried out for each histological grade to standardize the intensity and contrast level in the image. The proposed model has been trained, validated, and tested with the histopathological images and has achieved an average accuracy of 96.4%, 94.6%, and 95.1%, respectively.

Metal–Organic Frameworks for Catalysis

Bhattacharjee, S.,Lee, Y. R.,Puthiaraj, P.,Cho, S. M.,Ahn, W. S. Springer Science + Business Media 2015 CATALYSIS SURVEYS FROM ASIA Vol.19 No.4

Identification of Proapoptopic, Anti-Inflammatory, Anti-Proliferative, Anti-Invasive and Anti-Angiogenic Targets of Essential Oils in Cardamom by Dual Reverse Virtual Screening and Binding Pose Analysis

Bhattacharjee, Biplab,Chatterjee, Jhinuk Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.6

Background: Cardamom (Elettaria cardamom), also known as "Queen of Spices", has been traditionally used as a culinary ingredient due to its pleasant aroma and taste. In addition to this role, studies on cardamom have demonstrated cancer chemopreventive potential in in vitro and in vivo systems. Nevertheless, the precise poly-pharmacological nature of naturally occurring chemo-preventive compounds in cardamom has still not been fully demystified. Methods:In this study, an effort has been made to identify the proapoptopic, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, anti-invasive and anti-angiogenic targets of Cardamom's bioactive principles (eucalyptol, alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, d-limonene and geraniol) by employing a dual reverse virtual screening protocol. Experimentally proven target information of the bioactive principles was annotated from bioassay databases and compared with the virtually screened set of targets to evaluate the reliability of the computational identification. To study the molecular interaction pattern of the anti-tumor action, molecular docking simulation was performed with Auto Dock Pyrx. Interaction studies of binding pose of eucalyptol with Caspase 3 were conducted to obtain an insight into the interacting amino acids and their inter-molecular bondings. Results:A prioritized list of target proteins associated with multiple forms of cancer and ranked by their Fit Score (Pharm Mapper) and descending 3D score (Reverse Screen 3D) were obtained from the two independent inverse screening platforms. Molecular docking studies exploring the bioactive principle targeted action revealed that H- bonds and electrostatic interactions forms the chief contributing factor in inter-molecular interactions associated with anti-tumor activity. Eucalyptol binds to the Caspase 3 with a specific framework that is well-suited for nucleophilic attacks by polar residues inside the Caspase 3 catalytic site. Conclusion:This study revealed vital information about the poly-pharmacological anti-tumor mode-of-action of essential oils in cardamom. In addition, a probabilistic set of anti-tumor targets for cardamom was generated, which can be further confirmed by in vivo and in vitro experiments.

Chemogenomics Profiling of Drug Targets of Peptidoglycan Biosynthesis Pathway in Leptospira interrogans by Virtual Screening Approaches

( Bhattacharjee Biplab ),( Rose Mary Simon ),( Chaithra Gangadharaiah ),( Prashantha Karunakar ) 한국미생물 · 생명공학회 2013 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.23 No.6

Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis of global concern caused by Leptospira interrogans. The availability of ligand libraries has facilitated the search for novel drug targets using chemogenomics approaches, compared with the traditional method of drug discovery, which is time consuming and yields few leads with little intracellular information for guiding target selection. Recent subtractive genomics studies have revealed the putative drug targets in peptidoglycan biosynthesis pathways in Leptospira interrogans. Aligand library for the murD ligase enzyme in the peptidoglycan pathway has also been identified. Our approach in this research involves screening of the pre-existing ligand library of murD with related protein family members in the putative drug target assembly in the peptidoglycan biosynthesis pathway. A chemogenomics approach has been implemented here, which involves screening of known ligands of a protein family having analogous domain architecture for identification of leads for existing druggable protein family members. By means of this approach, one murC and one murF inhibitor were identified, providing a platform for developing an antileptospirosis drug targeting the peptidoglycan biosynthesis pathway. Given that the peptidoglycan biosynthesis pathway is exclusive to bacteria, the in silico identified mur ligase inhibitors are expected to be broad-spectrum Gram-negative inhibitors if synthesized and tested in in vitro and in vivo assays.

Fundamentals of Particle Fouling in Membrane Processes

Bhattacharjee Subir,Hong Seungkwan The Membrane Society of Korea 2005 Korean Membrane Journal Vol.7 No.1

The permeate flux decline due to membrane fouling can be addressed using a variety of theoretical stand-points. Judicious selection of an appropriate theory is a key toward successful prediction of the permeate flux. The essential criterion f3r such a decision appears to be a detailed characterization of the feed solution and membrane properties. Modem theories are capable of accurately predicting several properties of colloidal systems that are important in membrane separation processes from fundamental information pertaining to the particle size, charge, and solution ionic strength. Based on such information, it is relatively straight-forward to determine the properties of the concentrated colloidal dispersion in a polarized layer or the cake layer properties. Incorporation of such information in the framework of the standard theories of membrane filtration, namely, the convective diffusion equation coupled with an appropriate permeate transport model, can lead to reasonably accurate prediction of the permeate flux due to colloidal fouling. The schematic of the essential approach has been delineated in Figure 5. The modern approaches based on appropriate cell models appear to predict the permeate flux behavior in crossflow membrane filtration processes quite accurately without invoking novel theoretical descriptions of particle back transport mechanisms or depending on adjust-able parameters. Such agreements have been observed for a wide range of particle size ranging from small proteins like BSA (diameter ${\~}$6 nm) to latex suspensions (diameter ${\~}1\;{\mu}m$). There we, however, several areas that need further exploration. Some of these include: 1) A clear mechanistic description of the cake formation mechanisms that clearly identifies the disorder to order transition point in different colloidal systems. 2) Determining the structure of a cake layer based on the interparticle and hydrodynamic interactions instead of assuming a fixed geometrical structure on the basis of cell models. 3) Performing well controlled experiments where the cake deposition mechanism can be observed for small colloidal particles (< $1\;{\mu}m$). 4) A clear mechanistic description of the critical operating conditions (for instance, critical pressure) which can minimize the propensity of colloidal membrane fluting. 5) Developing theoretical approaches to account for polydisperse systems that can render the models capable of handing realistic feed solutions typically encountered in diverse applications of membrane filtration.