Parkinson’s Disease and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review Article on the Association between SARS-CoV-2 and α-Synucleinopathy

Smriti Sinha,Swati Mittal,Rupali Roy 대한파킨슨병및이상운동질환학회 2021 Journal Of Movement Disorders Vol.14 No.3

There is an extensive debate on the neurological consequences of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its impact on Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, which seems to puzzle neurologists. Links between viral infections and PD have long been suspected and studied, but the exact relationship remains elusive. Since severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) enters the brain through multiple routes and has a direct impact on the brain, cumulative damage occurs due to the activation of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. SARS-CoV-2 seems to aggravate PD due to its effects on α-synuclein, mitochondrial dysfunction, and dopamine depletion. A few studies have even highlighted the higher vulnerability of PD patients to COVID-19. The sudden dramatic change in lifestyle caused by the pandemic and the widespread lockdowns that were implemented have added to the hidden sorrows of PD patients, as they already have a compromised mechanism for coping with stress. This review summarizes insights from basic science and the clinical effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the human brain, with a specific focus on PD.

Women in Selected Dalit Narratives in India

( Smriti Singh ) 한국영미문학페미니즘학회 2013 영미문학페미니즘 Vol.21 No.1

The postcolonial project rejects colonial representation and constructs a nation with hopes of an egalitarian future. Along with it there is an awareness that all is not well in the new nation. Every power structure creates its own ``Others``, its own subalterns. And within the postcolonial nation state, inferior classes, castes, minority groups, women, and Dalits became ``others``. The question is how far do writings about Dalits show factors like caste, class and gender as permeable/non-permeable. This paper will look at writings by Dalits and writings by others about Dalits and analyse how such borders can be crossed. For the pupose of detailed study, the paper will deal with Om Prakash Valmiki`s Joothan, Sharan Kumar Limhale`s Akkarmashi, Mulk Raj Anand`s Untouchable, and Rohinton Mistry`s A Fine Balance. The paper will focus on the presentation of gender in the above-mentioned writings. A Dalit woman is a Dalit amongst the Dalits as she suffers ``double oppression`` - on account of her caste as well as her gender. This paper will discuss the issue of space and voice with regard to the female figures. How much space is given to them? How far do we really hear their voice, their travails and sufferings? Taking into accotmt Marx`s concept of ``commodity fetishism``, the paper will discuss whether the Dalit women are valued for themselves or for the work they perform. Are they fetishLzed with phallic objects and reduced to a stereotype where they fulfil certain masculine needs? If we look at the family as the basic unit of society, then how much ``space`` is given to Dalit women in the family or are they just treated as ``objects``? What kind of treatment is meted out to Dalit women by the society or the upper Women in Selected Dalit Narratives in India caste? How far do Dalit women undergo acculturation? The paper will also discuss the issue of representation of Dalits by non-Dalits, which has often been said to lack ``a visceral impact``. Using the concept of ``Manichean allegory``, the paper will discuss how the upper caste/class use certain differences to justify domination, and this is true in the case of gender as well. The paper will attempt to deconstruct master narratives, interrogating systems of representation, understanding the dynamics of power and examining the role of ideology in the construction of the self, especially the female self.

Surface coating of orthopedic implant to enhance the osseointegration and reduction of bacterial colonization: a review

Smriti Bohara,Jackrit Suthakorn 한국생체재료학회 2022 생체재료학회지 Vol.26 No.3

The use of orthopedic implants in surgical technology has fostered restoration of physiological functions. Along with successful treatment, orthopedic implants suffer from various complications and fail to offer functions correspondent to native physiology. The major problems include aseptic and septic loosening due to bone nonunion and implant site infection due to bacterial colonization. Crucial advances in material selection in the design and development of coating matrixes an opportunity for the prevention of implant failure. However, many coating materials are limited in in-vitro testing and few of them thrive in clinical tests. The rate of implant failure has surged with the ncreasing rates of revision surgery creating physical and sensitive discomfort as well as economic burdens. To overcome critical pathogenic activities several systematic oating techniques have been developed offering excellent results that combat infection and enhance bone integration. This review article includes some more common mplant coating matrixes with excellent in vitro and in vivo results focusing on infection rates, causes, complications, coating materials, host immune responses and significant research gaps. This study provides a comprehensive overview of potential coating technology, with functional combination coatings which are focused on ultimate clinical practice with substantial improvement on in-vivo tests. This includes the development of rapidly growing hydrogel coating techniques with the potential to generate several accurate and precise coating procedures.

Comparative efficacy of standard AGID,CCIE and competitive ELISA for detecting bluetongue virus antibodies in indigenous breeds of sheep and goats in Rajasthan, India

Smriti Shringi,B.N. Shringi 대한수의학회 2005 Journal of Veterinary Science Vol.6 No.1

The sero-prevalence of antibodies against blue tongue virus (BTV) in 408 local breeds of sheep in Rajasthan state in India was investigated using standard agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test. Maximum seropositivities of 11.3% (13/115), 10.7% (13/121), 7.1% (11/155) and 5.9% (1/17) were recorded in the Chokla, Magra, Nali and Pugal breeds, respectively. Out of 107 goat serum samples, 6 (5.6%) were AGID positive. The performance of the standard AGID, counter current immuno-electrophoresis (CCIE) and the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) for the detection of serum antibody against BTV in indigenous breeds of sheep were compared. Out of 178 sheep serum samples tested, 17 (9.5%), 22 (12.3%) and 54 (30.3%) were positive for group-specific bluetongue antibodies by AGID, CCIE and cELISA, respectively. There was appreciable difference in the seroprevalence detected by AGID, CCIE and cELISA in clinically healthy and diseased sheep with regard to relative sensitivities and specificities of the tests with cELISA being highly sensitive and specific followed by CCIE and AGID test. It was concluded that these indigenous breeds of sheep may be a potential reservoir of BTV infection and cELISA should be routinely used for the detection of antibodies against BTV in these local breeds of sheep

Building Resilience: Women Are Change Makers

Smriti Gurung 이화여자대학교 아시아여성학센터 2017 이화여자대학교 아시아여성학센터 학술대회자료집 Vol.2017 No.7

Disasters and natural calamities do not discriminate during their occurrence. Nonetheless, the impact of disaster on men, women and other groups is diverse, since different people have different capacities and needs. This is evident in any kind of disaster and so it was in the devastating earthquake that occurred in Nepal on 25 April 2015, where the number of female casualties outnumbered male casualties. Lack of recognition of women`s capacities, discriminatory social norms, and deep-rooted structural inequalities limited women`s mobility and access to both regular development and humanitarian crisis services in Nepal. Despite the fact that women were one of the most vulnerable groups impacted by the disaster, their significant roles in relief, response and recovery efforts as well as resilience building enabled them to serve as active agents of change. Therefore, through this paper, I want to authenticate the understanding that women are not always submissive in crises but can serve as role models for transformation, as evident in their vigorous contributions to the relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts of Nepal.

Structural damage detection in presence of temperature variability using 2D CNN integrated with EMD

Sharma, Smriti,Sen, Subhamoy Techno-Press 2021 Structural monitoring and maintenance Vol.8 No.4

Traditional approaches for structural health monitoring (SHM) seldom take ambient uncertainty (temperature, humidity, ambient vibration) into consideration, while their impacts on structural responses are substantial, leading to a possibility of raising false alarms. A few predictors model-based approaches deal with these uncertainties through complex numerical models running online, rendering the SHM approach to be compute-intensive, slow, and sometimes not practical. Also, with model-based approaches, the imperative need for a precise understanding of the structure often poses a problem for not so well understood complex systems. The present study employs a data-based approach coupled with Empirical mode decomposition (EMD) to correlate recorded response time histories under varying temperature conditions to corresponding damage scenarios. EMD decomposes the response signal into a finite set of intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). A two-dimensional Convolutional Neural Network (2DCNN) is further trained to associate these IMFs to the respective damage cases. The use of IMFs in place of raw signals helps to reduce the impact of sensor noise while preserving the essential spatio-temporal information less-sensitive to thermal effects and thereby stands as a better damage-sensitive feature than the raw signal itself. The proposed algorithm is numerically tested on a single span bridge under varying temperature conditions for different damage severities. The dynamic strain is recorded as the response since they are frame-invariant and cheaper to install. The proposed algorithm has been observed to be damage sensitive as well as sufficiently robust against measurement noise.

Bilateral congenital alveolar synechiae-a rare cause of trismus

Panda, Smriti,Sikka, Kapil,Punj, Jyotsna,Sharma, Suresh C. Korean Association of Maxillofacial Plastic and Re 2016 Maxillofacial Plastic Reconstructive Surgery Vol.38 No.-

Congenital alveolar synechiae is a rare anomaly mostly presenting in association with cleft palate. Owing to reduced mouth opening, feeding difficulties, and compromised airway in extreme cases along with presentation in early neonatal period, these patients present unique challenges to the surgeon as well as the anesthetist. Here, we discuss the surgical and anesthetic management of this entity in a 12-month-old female child.

A Comparative Study Between General and Special Education Teachers’ Perspectives regarding Gender Stereotyping in Nepal

정대영,Smriti Rai 한국특수아동학회 2018 특수아동교육연구 Vol.20 No.4

Purpose: This study focused on the differences in perspectives of general education and special education teachers regarding gender related issues. Method: For this purpose, data was collected through questionnaires and participants were selected via random sampling method. 100 teachers from Kathmandu valley which includes Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Kathmandu districts were surveyed comprising of 50 samples from special schools and 50 from general schools. The data was analyzed through independent sample T-Test to find out the differences in perspectives between the two groups of teachers. Result: Considerable difference in the perceptions of special education and general education teachers were inferred from this study. As a whole, special education teachers agreed more on the presence of gender differences regarding the physical or biological aspects of gender such as puberty and acquisition of motor skills. On the contrary, general education teachers agreed more on the presence of gender differences of their students in terms of the mental, aspects of gender such as learning style, dealing with stress and creativity. Conclusion: It was thus concluded that as gender is such a complex issue, it would be beneficial for teachers to undergo gender training where they can be sensitized on the related issues.

Primary School Teachers’ Attitudes toward Integration of Students with Disabilities in the General Classroom in Nepal

정대영,Smriti Rai 한국통합교육학회 2017 통합교육연구 Vol.12 No.2

This study specifically focused on the differences in attitudes of teachers who have taught students with disabilities and teachers who have never taught students with disabilities. Data was collected through questionnaires and participants were selected via random sampling method. A total of 150 primary school teachers from Kathmandu valley were surveyed. The data was analyzed through t-test to find out the differences in attitudes between the two groups of teachers i.e. those who have taught students with disabilities and those who have never taught such students. Considerable difference in the attitudes of the teachers was found. Overall, the teachers who had taught students with disabilities were more self-assured about their teaching abilities and showed more positive attitudes. They were also more confident to deal with students with disabilities and their parents. However, the teachers shared their problems regarding the practical implementation of integrated education such as lack of appropriate teaching materials, lack of awareness among parents and the greater community regarding disabilities, cultural and linguistic diversity among students, lack of teacher training etc. Therefore, the conclusion drawn was that proper services such as teaching materials, infrastructure and technology should be available for teachers to rely on, in addition to adequate special education training of at least 6 months to a year. This will better equip teachers to deal with students with special needs in an integrated setting and help in generating more positive attitudes in the long run.

Image Visual Description Model

Rishabh Kanodiya,Smriti Mittal,Shikha Jain 대한전자공학회 2020 IEIE Transactions on Smart Processing & Computing Vol.9 No.2

Image captioning is a keen area of interest for many researchers. With the evolution of machine learning and deep learning, different models are being applied to improve the accuracy and time complexity of the model. However, further improvement in terms of accuracy and time complexity is still an open research challenge. This paper’s contribution is twofold. First, we propose an image captioning model (ImgCap) using a VGG16 Convolution Neural Network and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) to generate the captions. Next, a similarity metric (SimM) is proposed in order to compare the generated captions with the expected ones. Furthermore, the proposed model is compared with an existing Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM)-based model. We observe that the proposed model outperforms the existing one in terms of both accuracy and time complexity.