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The timelessness of The Mahā bhā rata lies in its ability to re-invent itself, thereby giving the society a chance to re-negotiate, revise, and revive the discourse. It also gives the so called 'villains of the piece', well established in the 'rogues' gallery', a chance to redeem themselves. One such character is Śakuni, the 'shrewd' maternal uncle of the Kauravas, whose negative image in Vyāsa's textual universe is questioned by the folk renditions of the grand epic. The Oriyā Mahā bhā rata by Saralā Das views Śakuni not as the master conspirator who brought about the great war, but as a victim who suffered because of the court politics of the Kauravas. The strong popular culture that supports him is also evident in the narratives of the Kalbeliās of Rajasthan, and in the folk renderings of the epic in Kerala. This makes us reflect as to why the metanarrative has vilified Śakuni and treated him with contempt when the folk traditions view him in a more charitable light, or at least give him the benefit of doubt. This paper utilizes narrative research methods to understand the dehumanization of Śakuni in the dominant discourse. It employs the postmodern theories of psychoanalytical criticism and deconstruction in the study of the petite narratives associated with Śakuni to facilitate engagement, plurality, and divergence in the discourse. The paper attempts to read the chronicles of self, society, and social justice in these lesser-known narratives to liberate Śakuni from his filial debt and relocate him in the discursive universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'Interminability of Translation' is evident in the words of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, the post-structuralist feminist author, who considers writing as the site where the interplay of language is forever at work. Since the act of translation re-aligns the book in another register, Derrida's method of 'reversal and displacement' applies here, reiterating the open-ended indefiniteness of textuality. This paper intends to study the politics of translation, both in the context of the hegemonic domination, and the subsequent defiance and subversion attempted by the subaltern. It is imperative that the focus shifts from the European perspective of translation, to include the viewpoint of the indigenous languages and cultures. The Western bias must give way to the norms and values of the local beliefs, releasing translation from the clutches of the Eurocentric practices. This endorses what Barthes has to say about all writing consisting of several indiscernible voices, and literature being the invention of these voices to which we cannot assign a specific origin. This paper strives to prove that the translator's voice is equally, or perhaps, more important in this situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mahabharata is a treasure-trove of the cultural memories of the Hindus. The grand Epic has entertained and edified our society through its numerous identity-relevant narratives since time immemorial. The longevity of The Mahabharata lies in its capacity to adapt, adopt and re-fashion the account, which grants endless opportunities of initiating open-ended debate. The grand Epic has shaped our values and shared a template by which a life guided by Dharma is to be lived. The dialogic text continues to contribute to the resolution of our emotional angst and existential dilemmas. Much ahead of its times, the Epic revels in the liminality that is apparent in the narratives of the gender-queer people who are an integral part of its culture-scape. This paper seeks to study two liminal figures in the Epic narrative - Shikhandi, the transgender Prince of Panchala, and Yuvanashwa, the pregnant King, who swayed between gendered identities and challenged the hegemonic heteronormative sexual framework, thereby opening avenues of conversation related to marginalization, resistance and empowerment. The paper also examines the queer cases of King Sudyumna and King Bhangashwan, who questioned the symbolic binaries of gender and delineated a horizon of possibilities. The aim here is to measure the resistance of the genderqueer against the prescriptive order of subjectivities and assess the impact and the outcome. Drawing from the deconstructivist and the queer theories, the study foregrounds the trauma and the resistance of the marginal. These narratives establish The Mahabharata as one of the earliest texts to have a meaningful discourse in the queer-space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Autophagy is characterized by the sequestration of cytoplasm and organelles into multimembrane vesicles and subsequent degradation by the cell's lysosomal system. It is linked to many physiological functions in human cells including stress response, protein degradation, organelle turnover, caspase-independent cell death and tumor suppression. Malignant transformation is frequently associated with deregulation of autophagy and several tumor suppressors can modulate autophagic processes. The tumor suppressor p53 can induce autophagy after metabolic or genotoxic stress through transcriptionally-dependent and -independent mechanisms. In this study we expand on the former mechanism by functionally characterizing a p53 family target gene, ISG20L1 under conditions of genotoxic stress. Results We identified a p53 target gene, ISG20L1, and show that transcription of the gene can be regulated by all three p53 family members (p53, p63, and p73). We generated an antibody to ISG20L1 and found that it localizes to the nucleolar and perinucleolar regions of the nucleus and its protein levels increase in a p53- and p73-dependent manner after various forms of genotoxic stress. When ectopically expressed in epithelial cancer-derived cell lines, ISG20L1 expression decreased clonogenic survival without a concomitant elevation in apoptosis and this effect was partially rescued in cells that were ATG5 deficient. Knockdown of ISG20L1 did not alter 5-FU induced apoptosis as assessed by PARP and caspase-3 cleavage, sub-G1 content, and DNA laddering. Thus, we investigated the role of ISG20L1 in autophagy, a process commonly associated with type II cell death, and found that ISG20L1 knockdown decreased levels of autophagic vacuoles and LC3-II after genotoxic stress as assessed by electron microscopy, biochemical, and immunohistochemical measurements of LC3-II. Conclusions Our identification of ISG20L1 as a p53 family target and discovery that modulation of this target can regulate autophagic processes further strengthens the connection between p53 signaling and autophagy. Given the keen interest in targeting autophagy as an anticancer therapeutic approach in tumor cells that are defective in apoptosis, investigation of genes and signaling pathways involved in cell death associated with autophagy is critical.

The persona of Draupadi in The Mahabharata is an enigmatic portrayal of contradictions. Her body is the site on which the entire saga of power and control unfolds. Conceived in hate, she is born to restore power. She is left vulnerable to male gaze--her body a text inscribed by the rules of patriarchy. Objectified and allocated like a commodity, caught in a web of the hyper-phallic enterprise of war and aggrandizement, silenced or made a spokesperson of the establishment, Draupadi loses her all, and then her sense of self when she is blamed by Yudhisthira and left to die on the Himalayas. Yet we find Draupadi directing the course of the narrative. She is the catalyst to the unfortunate chain of events that leads to the decimation of the Kauravas. What is denied her in the metanarrative is usurped by her in the retellings. As Bharati's Panchali, or Devi's Dopdi, or Ray's Yajnaseni, she transcends the gendered ventriloquism of an essentially male preserve and renegotiates the margin. This paper reads how Draupadi, a gendered subaltern in a phallogocentric milieu, questions the culture of violence and emerges as the mascot of feminist assertion. The paper traces her journey from submission to subversion and follows the trajectory of her empowerment from a postcolonial and gender perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dystopian tropes in the plague narratives shift our gaze from the presence of professional ethics to the Gothic horror that unfolds subsequently. Yet whether it is the Great Plague of London in the year 1665, or the Novel Coronavirus in Mumbai in the year 2020, the rampant spread of the contagion and the associated dread bring into focus the selflessness of the caregivers, namely, the medical and the para-medic staff. Comparing the occurrences, one historical, the other still unfolding, this study examines the eery similarities that delineate contagion as metaphor, and the role of doctors in the pandemics. The aim is to find out what happens when the doctors stumble - to succumb to fear, to fall prey to diseases that flesh is subject to, or to violate the oath of Hippocrates. We intend to scrutinize if like soldiers on the battle-front, these frontline warriors also keep their tryst with death in the line of duty, or does History record otherwise. Whether the pestilence be classical or modern, the response of the caregivers is the cornerstone on which any society is grounded. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if courage in the face of disaster is still relevant in this age of anxiety, or does self-preservation win against ethics and morality. A close reading of Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year gives us an insight into the timelessness of such issues, especially in a world that is plagued with maladies of its own making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the effect of implementation of World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) on patient outcomes in surgical cases in a tertiary care hospital of Delhi. Background: Use of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist has been shown to be associated with significant reductions in peri-operative complications and deaths. Design: This study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital of Delhi on 152 major surgeries. Methods: In 80 cases (group I), this checklist was followed, while in 72 cases (group II), conventional practices were followed. In both the groups, the rates of perioperative complications and critical events were compared. Results: The complication rate was 15.27% for group II whereas it was only 5% in group I. Conclusion: Implementation of the checklist was associated with a greater than one-third reduction in peri-operative complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Blood transfusion errors have long been a source of concern for blood banks and hospitals. As per published reports from SHOT, UK, 30% of such errors originate from Blood bank labs. It has been reported that elimination of reagent handling, washing, bias in interpretation would go a long way in reducing errors in testing, thereby ensuring safety in transfusion and reduce the risk of AHTR. Aim: The objective of this paper is to evaluate three different systems using column agglutination technology along with conventional tube method for sensitivity and specificity in crossmatching using ICT method. Method: The systems compared were ORTHO BioVue®, Diamed ID and Grifols Diana system. A total of about 1000 random samples were evaluated on these systems for major cross-matching along with conventional tube AHG cross-matching procedure. Results: Out of 1000 samples, initially 20 samples showed incompatibility on Ortho BioVue system whereas only one sample showed incompatibility with Diamed ID system using the same set of patient and donor IDs. However, Grifols ID system and conventional tube method didn't show any incompatibility in this study. All the 21 samples were subjected to antibody screening on Ortho BioVue and Diamed ID system using pooled .O. cells and 3 cell screening panel. Out of 21 samples, 4 samples showed the presence of red cell antibody. The four samples positive in antibody screening were further subjected to antibody identification using 11 cell panel followed by enzyme treated cell panel. In antibody identification study, two samples showed the presence of clinically significant antibody and two samples showed the presence of clinically insignificant antibody in antibody identification study in the Ortho BioVue and Diamed ID systems. Conclusion: It could be concluded from the study that the estimated sensitivity of ORTHO BioVue system is 100% as compared to 99.6% on Diamed and Grifols systems, since they missed actually incompatible cross-matches (4 out of 1000 cross-matches). The estimated specificity for ORTHO BioVue was 98.8% and Diamed ID system was 99.89%. These results suggest that ORTHO BioVue is more sensitive than other column agglutination methods in detecting incompatibility without compromising good specificity. Since sensitivity is more important than specificity in cross-matches, ORTHO BioVue® would serve to improve patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A more precise identification of mucinous cysts will lower the likelihood of needless pancreatic surgery. Pancreatic cyst fluid (PCF) contains glucose and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), which serve as biomarkers to differentiate mucinous from non-mucinous pancreatic cystic neoplasms (PCNs)., Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of combined CEA and glucose levels in PCF for distinguishing mucinous from non-mucinous PCNs preoperatively., Methods: After receiving approval from the Institutional Ethical Committee of Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, a cross-sectional validation research was carried out. All patients ≥18 years of age who had undergone pancreatic surgery or endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) for a pancreatic cystic lesion and for whom PCF was acquired were eligible for inclusion. Patients were excluded if there was no PCF available, if they had been diagnosed with an extrapancreatic illness (such as ampullary adenoma), or if they could not be excluded due to pancreatic cancer generated from PCN. Diagnoses were pathologically confirmed. We performed measurements for CEA and glucose in PCF. CEA and glucose were measured using an Architect i2000SR analyzer (Abbott, Lake County, IL) and AU 5800 Beckman Coulter (Brea, CA), respectively. Diagnostic accuracy was evaluated by receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves., Results: PCF was obtained from 100 patients, of whom 54 (54%) had mucinous PCN and 46 (46%) had non-mucinous PCN. When CEA (cut-off ≥ 151 ng/ml) and glucose levels (cut-off ≤ 50 mg/dL) were combined, the results showed 46% sensitivity and 92% specificity. However, when CEA (cut-off ≥ 17 ng/ml) or glucose testing (cut-off ≤ 50 mg/dL) was used separately, the results showed 82% sensitivity and 73% specificity., Conclusion: The combined CEA and glucose testing in PCF demonstrated high specificity and sensitivity for differentiating mucinous from non-mucinous PCNs, suggesting its potential utility in preoperative diagnosis., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Institutional Ethics Committee, IGIMS, Patna issued approval 1073/IEC/IGIMS/2023. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Sinha et al.)

Introduction: Ventral hernia is one of the common surgical conditions that can significantly impact a patient's quality of life (QoL). Open ventral hernia repair using the Rives-Stoppa (RS) and Transversus Abdominis Release (TAR) procedures has gained recognition for its effectiveness in achieving hernia repair and reducing the risk of further recurrence. However, limited research has been performed to explore the short-term outcomes and QoL assessment following these two surgical techniques. The aim of this study was to know the result after RS and TAR methods of hernia repair in terms of short-term recurrences, pain, postoperative complications, and QoL., Methods: This was a prospective, interventional study, which included 30 patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria. The study group was subjected to posterior component separation (PCS)-TAR and RS repair as per surgical indication (RS if defect size 4-10cm; PCS-TAR if defect size >10cm and

Laevonorgestrel intra-uterine system is a new hormone releasing long acting intra-uterine device. Besides being used as long acting contraceptive, it has multiple non-contraceptive benefits. It is the best choice for young women suffering from menorrhagia who want contraception along with preservation of fertility and for premenopausal women who want to avoid surgery. Moreover, it has been reported to be useful in patients with dysmenorrhoea, fibroids, endometriosis and adenomyosis and endometrial hyperplasia.