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Using the methodology of overdetermination, class process of surplus labor as the entry point and socially determined need of food security, we deliver an alternative class-focused rendition of the public distribution system (PDS) in India. We first surmise our theoretical framework to infer that the overdetermined and contradictory relation of class and social needs matter for PDS. Beyond the reasoning of being pro-poor, fair, or wasteful, we deploy this framework to reinterpret the formation of Indian PDS in the 1960s. Its demonstration requires revisiting the historical condition that shaped capital’s passive revolution through the post-independence Indian state and its subsequent crisis arising out of the contradictions and conflicts in the class-need space. We argue that PDS signals a case of success and not failure of capitalism. JEL Classification: B41, B51, N45

In the backdrop of the rise of capitalism that led to a crisis in old care, this paper advances a theory of old care based on Amartya Sen’s analytical frame of capability and freedom. It unpacks the dimensions of care and characterizes old care from these in terms of aging. The definition and dimensions of old care are produced in a scenario where the life span of the elderly is seen as fluid, complex and heterogeneous and their freedom to make choice over functionings deemed essential. In the process, the paper both highlights and overcomes some of the serious drawbacks of the extant approaches to old care including those following the Utilitarian approach that underpins the state- and market-based solutions.

Background RBx 14255 is a fluoroketolide in pre-clinical evaluation with potent activity against MDR Gram-positive pathogens. Objectives To investigate the efficacy of RBx 14255 against bacterial meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis or Haemophilus influenzae in an experimental murine meningitis model. Methods In vitro activity of RBx 14255 was evaluated against clinical isolates of S. pneumoniae, N. meningitidis and H. influenzae. The in vivo efficacy of RBx 14255 was evaluated against bacterial meningitis, induced with S. pneumoniae 3579 erm(B), S. pneumoniae MA 80 erm(B), N. meningitidis 1852 and H. influenzae B1414 in a murine meningitis model. Results RBx 14255 showed strong in vitro bactericidal potential against S. pneumoniae, N. meningitidis and H. influenzae with MIC ranges of 0.004-0.1, 0.03-0.5 and 1-4 mg/L, respectively. In a murine meningitis model, a 50 mg/kg dose of RBx 14255, q12h, resulted in significant reduction of bacterial counts in the brain compared with the pretreatment control. The concentration of RBx 14255 in brain tissue correlated well with the efficacy in this mouse model. Conclusions RBx 14255 showed superior bactericidal activity in time-kill assays in vitro and in vivo in an experimental murine meningitis model. RBx 14255 could be a promising candidate for future drug development against bacterial meningitis.

The retinoic acid receptor-related orphan nuclear receptor gamma t (RORγt), which is a promising therapeutic target for immune diseases, is a major transcription factor of genes related to psoriasis pathogenesis, such as interleukin (IL)-17A, IL-22, and IL-23R. Inspired by the co-crystal structure of RORγt, a 6-oxo-4-phenyl-hexanoic acid derivative 6a was designed, synthesized, and identified as a ligand of RORγt. The structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies in 6a, which focus on the improvement of its membrane permeability profile by introducing chlorine atoms, led to finding 12a, which has a potent RORγt inhibitory activity and a favorable pharmacokinetic profile.

[Image: see text] The retinoic acid receptor-related orphan nuclear receptor γt (RORγt), a promising therapeutic target, is a major transcription factor of genes related to psoriasis pathogenesis such as interleukin (IL)-17A, IL-22, and IL-23R. On the basis of the X-ray cocrystal structure of RORγt with 1a, an analogue of the known piperazine RORγt inverse agonist 1, triazolopyridine derivatives of 1 were designed and synthesized, and analogue 3a was found to be a potent RORγt inverse agonist. Structure–activity relationship studies on 3a, focusing on the treatment of its metabolically unstable cyclopentyl ring and the central piperazine core, led to a novel analogue, namely, 6-methyl-N-(7-methyl-8-(((2S,4S)-2-methyl-1-(4,4,4-trifluoro-3-(trifluoromethyl)butanoyl)piperidin-4-yl)oxy)[1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyridin-6-yl)nicotinamide (5a), which exhibited strong RORγt inhibitory activity and a favorable pharmacokinetic profile. Moreover, the in vitro and in vivo evaluation of 5a in a human whole-blood assay and a mouse IL-18/23-induced cytokine expression model revealed its robust and dose-dependent inhibitory effect on IL-17A production.

Globalization has unleashed two concomitant forces in India since 1991: neoliberalism and private capitalism. Neoliberal globalization enabled India’s economic transition from state capitalism under a centralized plan regime (1951–1991) toward private capitalism that took the form of global capitalism (1991–). In the post-globalization era, while Indian capitalism has been successful in terms of outcomes of high growth and extreme income poverty reduction, its form of global capitalism represented by circuits-camp of global capital is shown as constituted by the structural exclusion of world of the third. This economic map is revealed to have sown new seeds of contradictions that manifested in new-fangled problems of income and social inequalities, misdirection in sectoral change, low quality of job creation, and agrarian crisis. Finally, we unpack the rise of nationalism and Hindutva in the post-globalization period and conclude by reflecting upon the possibility of a complex unity of capitalist minority might and Hindu majority might, albeit with contradictions and conflicts.

This paper departs from the hegemonic notion of truth—the cognitive notion of truth—and arrives at four other notions of truth in Marx, Gandhi, Heidegger, and Foucault. It puts the four to a possible dialogue. It argues that one can get a glimpse of the cusp of Marxism and spirituality in the dialogue among the four. The work at the cusp, in turn, renders Marxism asketic and the spiritual phronetic. Thinking at the cusp also inaugurates the possibility of an anti-Oedipal future for Marxism and a this-worldly present for spirituality.

This conversation with the fourteenth Dalai Lama—the spiritual-political inspiration of the displaced Tibetan community—revolves around questions of why a practitioner of the Buddha Dharma would like to call himself Marxist, and also his views on the violence of both Marxist praxis and religion. The Dalai Lama splits Marxism into, on the one hand, violent paranoid statecraft, and, on the other, the moral principle of equal distribution. He aligns with the latter. He also displaces other-worldly religion to this-worldly moksha; he calls it spirituality. The conversation brings to dialogue the possible political consequences of a this-worldly spirituality and the possible spiritual consequences of a reflexive Marxism keenly attuned to experiences of human suffering.

The essay’s focus is on the outside. The urgency of rethinking an outside to (global) capitalism stems from the need for critical reflection on two sets of ideas incumbent upon the South: one set marked by globality and the other marked by a continuum of terms such as “local,” “third world,” and “pre-capital.” Such a critical reflection takes the essay to a rethinking of the given script of Marxism from the outside, reengaging with advanced Marxian reflections on questions of “hegemony” and psychoanalytic exegeses on questions of “foreclosure” (verwerfung). Interrogation of extant theorizations on hegemony and foreclosure lead both to more abstract considerations on the Lacanian symbolic and the real and also to apparently more concrete reflections on “global capitalism” and its outside: the “world of the third.” Other than defamiliarizing the given script of capitalist development, this has the potential to open up new avenues to think of politics and subject.

We seek to analyze the changing rationale and character of Indian state in the backdrop of the post-planning Indian economic transition. It is held that the Indian economy has transited into the triad of neoliberalism, global capitalism and inclusive development. It is argued that the India state was both a creator of this triad and also the site of the combined effects of these nodes that pull and push it into contradictory directions. In enacting these multiple roles, the Indian state is characterized by both benevolent and violent side of its existence in one turn. Its violent side is captured in terms of primitive accumulation and state of exception while the benevolent character through the social programs for the needy and in facilitating the process of nation building by way of creating human capital for capitalist-induced growth. The changing character and roles of Indian state in turn suggest a foundational displacement in the rationale of its existence, a shift that is to be identified not merely in terms of what it says but in what it actually practices. In this context, that the Indian state governs for the good of society and not for itself is identified as one of the major changes in its rationale.

What happens when a thinker and practitioner of transformative politics claim to be imagining and doing socialism from a perspective drawn from the resources in the East? We show how Gandhi seeks to shape an Indianized version of non-violent socialism consistent with what is claimed to be Marx’s basic principle of communism: “To each according to his need, from each according to his capacity.” His framework challenges any claim to violence as a necessary condition for the praxis of socialism. He seeks to end capitalism without putting an end to the ‘capitalist subject.’ This dialogue of Gandhi with Marx’s Capital on socialism gathers further steam when we unpack the former’s conceptual contour that underpins non-violent socialism—labor, capital, capitalist, capitalism, property, industrialization—in order to set up its encounter with the fundamental point of Marx’s critique of political economy foregrounded in his book Capital—modes of surplus labor appropriation and its specific form in (capitalist) exploitation. Our analysis reveals that, when made to confront surplus and exploitation, Gandhi’s insistence on a non-violent relationship with the ‘capitalist subject’ even as capitalism is supposed to be withering away is inconsistent in terms of his own framework. Likewise, any asserted Marxian claim of socialism as necessarily epitomizing material development and abundance and which is to be arrived at through class violence is rendered problematical by Gandhi. These insights then open up the possibility of further exchanges about post-capitalist futurities.

Introduction: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains a highly morbid public health problem. Despite improving practices and clear guidelines, mortality from this condition remains high at 90%, with survivors often suffering from poor neurologic outcomes. To determine the feasibility of quality improvement collaboratives to narrow gaps between evidence-based practice and patient care for OHCA, we conducted a pilot study of the AHA Resuscitation Collaborative. Methods: Eight emergency medical service agencies participated in the quality improvement collaborative pilot project. We identified several OHCA performance measures to assess the quality of care, guide collaborative activities, and monitor change in performance over time. Over the course of four learning sessions, participants were trained in quality improvement and performance measurement, analyzed performance measure results, and shared successes and challenges. Results: Five remaining agencies underwent the process outlined in Figure 1. Adherence to performance measures, including compression rate compliance (Figure 2), improved over the course of the collaborative. Compression rate compliance in Figure 2 corresponds to the process improvement efforts of the Chesapeake Fire Department with achievement of goals for optimal range of chest compression rate between 100 and 120 compressions per minute during resuscitations. Conclusion: As demonstrated in Virginia, the collaborative approach was an effective framework to improve OHCA care. Improvement in performance measures, the evident commitment of dedicated peers and colleagues, consistent collaboration, and the effective diffusion of best practices all support the continued use of this model.

This article discusses a possible dialogue between Marxism and psychotherapy based on the letters between Louis Althusser and Jacques Lacan, exchanged between 1963 and 1969. This dialogue forms the ground for a dialogue between what has come to be known as the “critical tradition” and the “clinical tradition” which, in turn, becomes the ground for imagining what could be called “psycho-social studies”. From the letters, this article explores three thematic angles: the angle of the “old” as Foucauldian askesis; the angle of the “beyond” as Marxian/Freudian theoretical form, or, put another way, the angle of the “break” as internal transition from ideology to science; and the angle of the “forbidden” as the Lacanian Real. In doing so, the article reflects on how these three angles could create conditions and conduits for a dialogue between post-metaphysical understandings of Marxism and psychotherapy. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We present here the novel ketolide RBx 14255, a semisynthetic macrolide derivative obtained by the derivatization of clarithromycin, for its in vitro and in vivo activities against sensitive and macrolide-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae . RBx 14255 showed excellent in vitro activity against macrolide-resistant S. pneumoniae , including an in-house-generated telithromycin-resistant strain ( S. pneumoniae 3390 NDDR). RBx 14255 also showed potent protein synthesis inhibition against telithromycin-resistant S. pneumoniae 3390 NDDR. The binding affinity of RBx 14255 toward ribosomes was found to be more than that for other tested drugs. The in vivo efficacy of RBx 14255 was determined in murine pulmonary infection induced by intranasal inoculation of S. pneumoniae ATCC 6303 and systemic infection with S. pneumoniae 3390 NDDR strains. The 50% effective dose (ED 50 ) of RBx 14255 against S. pneumoniae ATCC 6303 in a murine pulmonary infection model was 3.12 mg/kg of body weight. In addition, RBx 14255 resulted in 100% survival of mice with systemic infection caused by macrolide-resistant S. pneumoniae 3390 NDDR at 100 mg/kg four times daily (QID) and at 50 mg/kg QID. RBx 14255 showed favorable pharmacokinetic properties that were comparable to those of telithromycin.

This commentary regards the exchange between Jodi Dean and Stephen Healy at the 2013 Rethinking Marxism International Conference. It highlights several points of departure having to do with “the communist horizon,” the Lacanian Real as the register of the foreclosed (and not just the register of the remainder, the Impossible, or the inassimilable), the philosophy and ethico-politics of transformation (as against transition), and the theorization of class as the constitutive Real of capitalism.