Democracy in South Africa Today : A Feminist Perspective

Kusum Datta Research Institute of Asian Women Sookmyung Women' 2005 Asian Women Vol.20 No.-

The new democratic constitution and the three general elections in South Africa since 1994 have redrawn the political map of the country. South Africa has one of the most women friendly governments led by the African National Congress. Nearly thirty three percent of the members of its Parliament are woman, and a large number of its power cabinet ministries are headed by black women. Yet, women remain the most deprived and the poorest section of its population with minimal recourse to resources and employment despite many legal reforms and gendered policies. This paper argues that South Africa's elaborate national machinery for gender equity has failed to improve women's situation primarily for two reasons. The first is the weakening political will of the government partly because of the growing influence of international financial institutions that prioritize fiscal balance at the expense of social justice. Secondly, there is a growing disjuncture between the feminists within the government and the bureaucracy on the one hand and the fractured women's movement in civil society on the other. The paper underscores the imperative need for strengthening the new type of civil society organisations and their pressure group capacity to support women within the government and to hold them accountable to the feminist project.

Type-Specific Incidence and Persistence of HPV Infection among Young Women: A Prospective Study in North India

Datta, Palika,Bhatla, Neerja,Pandey, R.M.,Dar, Lalit,Patro, A. Rajkumar,Vasisht, Shachi,Kriplani, Alka,Singh, Neeta Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.3

Background: Infections with human papillomavirus (HPV) are highly prevalent among sexually active young women in India. However, not much is known about the incidence of type-specific human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and their patterns of persistence, especially in the Indian context. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the rate of acquisition and persistence of HPV types in young women. Methods: Women residing in an urban slum in Delhi (n=1300) were followed for 24 months at 6 monthly intervals. Exfoliated cervical cells collected at each visit were tested for the presence of HPV DNA. Genotyping was performed using the reverse line blot assay. Results: The incidence rate for any HPV type was calculated to be 5 per 1000 women-months. Among high risk HPV types, HPV16 had the highest incidence rate followed by HPV59, HPV52 and HPV18, i.e., 3.0, 0.58, 0.41 and 0.35 women per 1000 women-months respectively. The persistence rate was higher for high-risk than low-risk HPV types. Among low-risk types, HPV42, HPV62, HPV84 and HPV89 were found to persist. Whereas almost all high risk types showed persistence, the highest rate was found in women with HPV types 16, 45, 67, 31, 51 and 59. The persistence rate for HPV16 infection was 45 per 1000 women-months. Conclusion: Incident HPV infections and high risk HPV type-specific persistence were found to be high in our study population of young married women. Understanding the patterns of HPV infection may help plan appropriate strategies for prevention programs including vaccination and screening.

The G23 and G25 Genes of Temperate Mycobacteriophage L1 Are Essential for The Transcription of Its Late Genes

Datta, Hirock Jyoti,Mandal, Prajna,Bhattacharya, Rajat,Das, Niranjan,Sau, Subrata,Mandal, Nitai Chanda Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biol 2007 Journal of biochemistry and molecular biology Vol.40 No.2

Two lysis-defective but DNA synthesis non-defective temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of mycobacteriophage L1, L1G23ts23 and L1G25ts889 were found to be defective also in phage-specific RNA synthesis in the late period of their growth at 42$^{\circ}C$each to the extent of 50% of that at 32$^{\circ}C$The double mutant, L1G23ts23G25ts889 showed the ts defect in phage RNA synthesis that was nearly additive of those shown individually by the two single-mutant parents. Both G23 and G25 were shown to start functioning sometimes between 30 and 45 min after infection but the former gene might be dispensable after 45 min, while the latter was not. Northern analysis also shows that at 42$^{\circ}C$>, L1G23ts23 affects RNA synthesis more strongly than L1G25ts889 from L1 DNA segments that serve as the template for late gene transcription. Among the 21 virion and 12 non-virion late proteins synthesized by L1, L1G23ts23 is defective in the synthesis of at least 9 virion and all of non-virion proteins at 42$^{\circ}C$>. In contrast, L1G25ts889 is completely defective in synthesis of all the 33 late proteins. Possible roles of G23 and G25 in the positive regulation of transcription of different sets of late genes of L1 have been discussed.

Association of Breast Cancer with Sleep Pattern - A Pilot Case Control Study in a Regional Cancer Centre in South Asia

Datta, Karabi,Roy, Asoke,Nanda, Durgaprasad,Das, Ila,Guha, Subhas,Ghosh, Dipanwita,Sikdar, Samar,Biswas, Jaydip Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.20

The rising trend of breast cancer both in developed and developing countries is a real threat challenging all efforts to screening, prevention and treatment aspects to reduce its impact. In spite of modern preventive strategies, the upward trend of breast cancer has become a matter of great concern in both developed and developing countries. Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute is a premier regional cancer institute in eastern region of India catering to a large number of cancer patients every year. A pilot case control study of fifty breast cancer patients and 100 matched controls was conducted during 2013 to evaluate the effects of habitual factors like working in night shift, not having adequate sleep, and not sleeping in total darkness on breast cancer of women. The study revealed that not sleeping in total darkness was associated with higher odds of outcome of breast cancer of women. This positive correlation can play a vital role in formulation of preventive strategies through life style modification.

Length-Dependent Change of Optical, Magnetic, and Vibrational Properties of Vanadate (V^IVO₃^2–) Quantum Wire Embedded in AM-6 Vanadosilicate

Datta, Shuvo Jit,Yoon, Kyung Byung American Chemical Society 2012 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY - Vol.134 No.41

<P>AM-6 and VSH-1 are vanadosilicates containing VO<SUB>3</SUB><SUP>2–</SUP> quantum wires and oxovanadate [OVO<SUB>4</SUB>]<SUP>2–</SUP> quantum dots, respectively. We developed methods to synthesize pure, highly crystalline, monodisperse, and all-V<SUP>IV</SUP> AM-6 and VSH-1 crystals with sizes between 0.2–0.3 and 10 μm. On the basis of their optical, magnetic susceptibility, vibrational, and electron spin resonance (ESR) properties, we have elucidated the following interesting phenomena. The length of the VO<SUB>3</SUB><SUP>2–</SUP> quantum wire (<I>l</I>) linearly increases as the length along the [110] direction {<I>L</I><SUB>[110]</SUB>} increases. The band gap energy (<I>E</I><SUB>g</SUB>) of the VO<SUB>3</SUB><SUP>2–</SUP> quantum wire progressively decreases with increasing <I>l</I> even when it reaches ∼210 nm, indicating that the Bohr length (the length at which the quantum confinement effect no longer appears) is longer than 200 nm. The deduced μ<SUB><I>z</I></SUB> and μ<SUB><I>xy</I></SUB> are 0.0005<I>m</I><SUB>e</SUB> and 15.7<I>m</I><SUB>e</SUB>, respectively. Per-V<SUP>IV</SUP>-ion oscillator strength of the d–d transition increases by 7–9 times and that of CT transition increases by 1.5–1.9 times with increasing <I>l</I> from ∼50 to 210 nm (by ∼4 times). The longitudinal vibration frequency ν of the VO<SUB>3</SUB><SUP>2–</SUP> quantum wire decreases and the intensity of the vibrational band increases as <I>l</I> increases. The ESR intensity increases while the peak-to-peak width decreases as <I>l</I> increases, indicating that the spin–spin relaxation rate (<I>R</I><SUB>ssr</SUB>) decreases as <I>l</I> increases. The magnetic susceptibility χ decreases as <I>l</I> increases, especially at <I>T</I> > 125 K, indicating that the tendency of the d<SUP>1</SUP> electron spins to orient to the external magnetic field decreases with increasing <I>l</I>.</P><P><B>Graphic Abstract</B> <IMG SRC='http://pubs.acs.org/appl/literatum/publisher/achs/journals/content/jacsat/2012/jacsat.2012.134.issue-41/ja307187z/production/images/medium/ja-2012-07187z_0011.gif'></P><P><A href='http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/ja307187z'>ACS Electronic Supporting Info</A></P>

Synthesis of large monodisperse ETS-10 crystals and observation of quantum confinement effects from very long titanate quantum wires

Datta, S.J.,Yoon, K.B. Elsevier Science Publishers 2013 CATALYSIS TODAY - Vol.204 No.-

Synthetic conditions to produce highly crystalline monodisperse ETS-10 crystals with the length along the [110] direction (L<SUB>[110]</SUB>) between 17 and 55μm and the length along the [001] direction between 15 and 80μm were developed. This was achieved by varying the amounts of KF in the gel consisting of Na<SUB>2</SUB>SiO<SUB>3</SUB>, titanium isopropoxide, HCl, NaCl, KF, and H<SUB>2</SUB>O. The UV-vis spectra of the ETS-10 crystals revealed that the absorption band red-shifts with increasing L<SUB>[110]</SUB>. The plot of band gap energies (E<SUB>g</SUB> values) with respect to L<SUB>[110]</SUB> values revealed a progressively decaying relationship. The mixing of the newly observed data set with that reported previously from the ETS-10 crystals with L<SUB>[110]</SUB> between 0.3 and 20μm gave a smooth exponential decay relationship, E<SUB>g</SUB>=0.2578 exp(-L<SUB>[110]</SUB>/13.751)+3.7667, as if they came from a single data set. Analysis shows that the quantum confinement effect still operates in TiO<SUB>3</SUB><SUP>2-</SUP> quantum wires with the estimated length of 368nm. The μ<SUB>xy</SUB> and μ<SUB>z</SUB> values are 15.2 and 0.0006m<SUB>e</SUB>, respectively. A monotonous quadratic relationship exists between L<SUB>[110]</SUB> and l. Thus the length of the titanate quantum wire increases more than the degree the crystal size increases, indicating that the degree of defect per unit volume decreases as the crystal size increases.

Smoothing Output Power Variations of Isolated Utility Connected Multiple PV Systems by Coordinated Control

Datta, Manoj,Senjyu, Tomonobu,Yona, Atsushi,Sekine, Hideomi,Funabashi, Toshihisa The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2009 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.9 No.2

A Photovoltaic (PV) system's power output varies with the change of climate. Frequency deviations, tie line voltage swings are caused by the varying PV power when large PV power from several PV systems is fed in the utility. In this paper, to overcome these problems, a simple coordinated control method for smoothing the variations of combined PV power from multiple PV systems is proposed. Here, output power command is formed in two steps: central and local. Fuzzy control is used to produce the central smoothing output power command considering insolation, variance of insolation and absolute average of frequency deviation. In local step, a simple coordination is kept between the central power command and the local power commands by producing a common tuning factor. Power converters are used to achieve the same output power as local command power employing PI control law for each of the PV generation systems. The proposed method is compared with the method where conventional Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) control is used for each of the PV systems. Simulation results show that the proposed method is effective for smoothing the output power variations and feasible to reduce the frequency deviations of the power utility.

CO₂ capture from humid flue gases and humid atmosphere using a microporous coppersilicate

Datta, Shuvo Jit,Khumnoon, Chutharat,Lee, Zhen Hao,Moon, Won Kyung,Docao, Son,Nguyen, Thanh Huu,Hwang, In Chul,Moon, Dohyun,Oleynikov, Peter,Terasaki, Osamu,Yoon, Kyung Byung American Association for the Advancement of Scienc 2015 Science Vol.350 No.6258

<P><B>Grabbing CO<SUB>2</SUB> from wet gas streams</B></P><P>It is a challenge to extract CO<SUB>2</SUB> from typical gas streams, such as the flue gas from a power plant. This is because any water in the stream tends to prevent CO<SUB>2</SUB> absorption and may also degrade the absorbing material. Datte <I>et al.</I> developed a microporous copper silicate that avoids these problems. Most other materials have sites that absorb both water and CO<SUB>2</SUB> at the same sites, and in that fight, the water tends to win. Although their material still absorbs water, it has separate sites for the CO<SUB>2</SUB> absorption. It also shows good stability despite the absorbed water and can be reused.</P><P><I>Science</I>, this issue p. 302</P><P>Capturing CO<SUB>2</SUB> from humid flue gases and atmosphere with porous materials remains costly because prior dehydration of the gases is required. A large number of microporous materials with physical adsorption capacity have been developed as CO<SUB>2</SUB>-capturing materials. However, most of them suffer from CO<SUB>2</SUB> sorption capacity reduction or structure decomposition that is caused by co-adsorbed H<SUB>2</SUB>O when exposed to humid flue gases and atmosphere. We report a highly stable microporous coppersilicate. It has H<SUB>2</SUB>O-specific and CO<SUB>2</SUB>-specific adsorption sites but does not have H<SUB>2</SUB>O/CO<SUB>2</SUB>-sharing sites. Therefore, it readily adsorbs both H<SUB>2</SUB>O and CO<SUB>2</SUB> from the humid flue gases and atmosphere, but the adsorbing H<SUB>2</SUB>O does not interfere with the adsorption of CO<SUB>2</SUB>. It is also highly stable after adsorption of H<SUB>2</SUB>O and CO<SUB>2</SUB> because it was synthesized hydrothermally.</P>

Modeling and simulation of large crowd evacuation in hazard-impacted environments

Datta, Songjukta,Behzadan, Amir H. Techno-Press 2019 Advances in computational design Vol.4 No.2

Every year, many people are severely injured or lose their lives in accidents such as fire, chemical spill, public pandemonium, school shooting, and workplace violence. Research indicates that the fate of people in an emergency situation involving one or more hazards depends not only on the design of the space (e.g., residential building, industrial facility, shopping mall, sports stadium, school, concert hall) in which the incident occurs, but also on a host of other factors including but not limited to (a) occupants' characteristics, (b) level of familiarity with and cognition of the surroundings, and (c) effectiveness of hazard intervention systems. In this paper, we present EVAQ, a simulation framework for modeling large crowd evacuation by taking into account occupants' behaviors and interactions during an emergency. In particular, human's personal (i.e., age, gender, disability) and interpersonal (i.e., group behavior and interactions) attributes are parameterized in a hazard-impacted environment. In addition, different hazard types (e.g., fire, lone wolf attacker) and propagation patterns, as well as intervention schemes (simulating building repellent systems, firefighters, law enforcement) are modeled. Next, the application of EVAQ to crowd egress planning in an airport terminal under human attack, and a shopping mall in fire emergency are presented and results are discussed. Finally, a validation test is performed using real world data from a past building fire incident to assess the reliability and integrity of EVAQ in comparison with existing evacuation modeling tools.

The Bacteriophage λ DNA Replication Protein P Inhibits the oriC DNA- and ATP-binding Functions of the DNA Replication Initiator Protein DnaA of Escherichia coli

Datta, Indrani,Sau, Subrata,Sil, Alok Kumar,Mandal, Mitai C. Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biol 2005 Journal of biochemistry and molecular biology Vol.38 No.1

Under the condition of expression of $\lambda$ P protein at lethal level, the oriC DNA-binding activity is significantly affected in wild-type E. coli but not in the rpl mutant. In purified system, the $\lambda$ P protein inhibits the binding of both oriC DNA and ATP to the wild-type DnaA protein but not to the rpl DnaA protein. We conclude that the $\lambda$ P protein inhibits the binding of oriC DNA and ATP to the wild-type DnaA protein, which causes the inhibition of host DNA synthesis initiation that ultimately leads to bacterial death. A possible beneficial effect of this interaction of $\lambda$ P protein with E. coli DNA initiator protein DnaA for phage DNA replication has been proposed.