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“I think dystopian futures are also a reflection of current fears.” – Lauren Oliver The more we progress towards a better dawn, the more we find ourselves involved in a dystopian societal bond. Far removed from Thomas Moore and his concept of utopia, we have drowned deep into the abyss of never ending chaos, the chaos of erroneous distortions that mess up with the wits and generate robots. All dystopian fictions deal with the same concept, but each become more menacing than the former. This feature that emerged as a by product of post-colonialism, has stormed the world in general and the literary sphere in particular, striking alarming thoughts. “But within every dystopia there’s a little utopia.” – Margaret Atwood. We, readers, have to understand these minacious nightmares that have been penned down since the last century. This paper attempts to deconstruct the four pillars of dystopian narrative: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, 1984 by George Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. The deconstructive analysis, done through psychoanalytic criticism, would be based on both the Freudian and Jungian principles. The novels selected are dystopian in nature, keeping in mind the postcolonial society and the crisis that it has been facing since the advent of the world wars. Some of the major analytical theories have been taken up together by this paper: deconstruction to point at the horror from the closest point of examination and psychoanalysis that will help with a better understanding into the psyche of the protagonists. This paper aims at giving a better insight into the postmodern dystopian society as a whole, seeking to provide a solution rather than posing a problem. “The beauty of dystopia is that it lets us vicariously experience future worlds – but we still have the power to change our own.” – Ally Condie This is exactly what this paper aims to present: an understanding of the future agitations, so that postcolonial dystopia remains a vague abstraction, never concretised!

In this paper, we estimate the price elasticity of residential electricity consumption in Switzerland using a unique longitudinal household survey of around 5000 households. The survey contains information on a household's stock of appliances, use of appliances, and various socio-demographic characteristics. Our empirical model is derived from a variant of household production theory that posits electricity demand as being a derived demand for energy services. Based on this, we extend our basic model by using information on energy services, e.g. the amount of washing and the amount of cooking. We also use an instrumental variables approach to obtain consistent estimates of the price elasticity to account for potential endogeneity concerns with the average price. Our results indicate that the short-to medium-run price elasticity is around −0.7. This implies that policy makers concerned about reducing electricity consumption can use pricing policy, with a combination of other policies, to effectively reduce or, at least, stabilise electricity consumption in Switzerland., Energy Policy, 158, ISSN:0301-4215

This paper examines the impact of revenue decoupling policies on energy efficiency spending by electric utility companies in the US. I identify this impact by using the variation in the implementation of decoupling measures over time and across utility companies in the US. Using individual utility-level data between 2007 and 2011 from the US Energy Information Administration on energy efficiency spending and other utility characteristics I find that decoupled utilities spend, on average, about $16 per customer more on energy efficiency than utilities that have not been decoupled. Therefore, given the increasing importance of energy efficiency as an effective way to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and an ongoing increase in different regulatory environments of electric utilities, it appears that decoupling policies may be effective instruments to promote energy efficiency spending.

International audience; In this paper, we study the impact of air pollution on child growth in India. We rely on wind direction to capture quasi-random variation in three main criteria air pollutants. We show that an increase in the average concentration of fine particulate matter by one standard deviation is accountable for almost 5 and 2.4 percentage points of stunting and severe stunting rates, respectively. We also find that ozone and carbon monoxide impact weight-related outcomes. Stunting has critical long-term health and economic consequences; through its impact on stunting, pollution exacerbates the height premium in earnings, with girls being more adversely affected than boys in India. © 2022 Elsevier Inc.

We estimate the short- and long-run elasticities of electricity demand in Switzerland using a dynamic model of residential electricity consumption incorporating a correction introduced by Kiviet. We find that the short-run elasticity of residential demand for electricity in Switzerland is around −0.3 while the long-run elasticity is around −0.6. Our estimates indicate that pricing policy as a plan for energy strategy may have a moderate impact on residential customers in the short run but will have a stronger influence in the long-run. In view of the recent proposal in Switzerland to introduce a tax on electricity as part of its energy strategy plan, an increase in the price of electricity may result in a moderate decrease in electricity consumption. Keywords: Residential electricity demand, Price elasticity, Partial adjustment model, Dynamic demand model, Panel data, JEL classification: C23, Q41, Q48, Q58

In this paper, we use panel data from a survey conducted on 30 utilities in Switzerland to estimate the impact of demand-side management (DSM) activity on residential electricity demand. Using the variation in DSM activity within utilities and across utilities over time we identify the impact of DSM programs and find that their presence reduces per customer residential electricity consumption by around 5%. If we consider monetary spending, the effect of a 10% increase in DSM spending causes a 0.14% reduction in per customer residential electricity consumption. The cost of saving a kilowatt hour is around 0.04CHF while the average cost of producing and distributing electricity in Switzerland is around 0.18CHF per kilowatt hour. We conclude that current DSM practices in Switzerland have a statistically significant effect on reducing the demand for residential electricity.

Galectin-3, a β-galactoside-binding lectin, has been implicated in vast repertoire of inflammatory and immunomodulatory processes including skin diseases. However, galectin-3 has not been comprehensively studied in infectious diseases. This study emphasizes on fascinating aspects of galectin-3 expression in dermal infection by studying post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL), an intracellular infection caused by Leishmania donovani. Indian PKDL is a well-recognized parasitic dermatosis, with a high risk of anthroponotic transmission of L. donovani in causing leishmaniasis. This study aims to investigate the levels of galectin-3 and galectin-3-binding site expression in circulation of different forms of Indian patients with PKDL. Thirty-seven confirmed untreated PKDL patients, comprising 20 polymorphic and 17 macular PKDL manifestations, were evaluated for the levels of sera galectin-3 with respect to 28 age- and sex-matched healthy controls from endemic areas. Result shows a significant increment (P < 0.001) in circulatory galectin-3 levels in PKDL variants as compared to healthy controls. In addition, there were heightened levels of galectin-3 and galectin-3-binding sites on cellular infiltrates on lesional sites. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between frequencies of mononuclear cells and galectin-3 during microcirculation in lesions. Data were well corroborated with positive correlation of IL-10 and IFN-γ with sera galectin-3 levels. Moreover, flow cytometry demonstrated the enhanced expression levels of the galectin-3-binding site in circulation in patients with PKDL as compared to healthy controls. Taken together, elevated levels of galectin-3 reflect its involvement in PKDL pathogenesis.

Nowadays, research works in various fields are quite developed and also consistently updating themselves from the previous versions. From the aspects of recent technologies and services, it is effortless to store them in a better collective manner by making an online library and make them publicly available in order to be improved upon. One example among them is Google Scholar which not only provides research works publicly but also develops the connection with other works using citation parameter. They also provide several indices for analysis of the authors works. But apart from that, no evaluation and analysis processes were studied before to track any domain activity on these research works. In our study, we have developed a framework that deals with research data and provides varieties of dataset useful for tracking various evaluation and analysis activities on them. In order to do so, we have developed our own recommendation pipeline to evaluate the trending works and also a ranking system to analyze those works according to quality and efficiency. So, in such way, we introduced a new index which can help us to identify the trending research work and after that we analyze several techniques on the sample results such as recommendation and frequency analysis for ranking, NLP tagging and word cloud analysis.

Background Post Kala Azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) occurs as dermal consequence of previous Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) infection and serves as an important reservoir for transmission of VL. Diagnosis of PKDL is often challenging for its symptomatic resemblance to other co-endemic diseases like Leprosy or Vitiligo. Parasitological examination by slit-skin smear and culture are the standard methods but lack high sensitivity. Thus, for efficient control of VL, reliable diagnostic and prognostic assay of PKDL are required. Objective Previously, glycoproteins (9-OAcSA) have been reported as promising biomarkers of Indian VL patients. However, till date, the status of glycans in Indian PKDL patients remains unexplored. Accordingly, in this study, the glyco-profile of PKDL Circulating Immune Complexes (CICs) as compared to other cross diseases like Vitiligo and Leprosyhas been investigated. Further, a novel Glyco CIC assay has been developed for efficient Indian PKDL patient diagnosis. Methods/principal finding In the present study, 90 PKDL patients were enrolled from 3 VL endemic districts of West Bengal during 2015–16. Glycosylation profile of isolated CICs from sera of PKDL patients were initially analyzed through gradient SDS gel electrophoresis followed by PAS silver double staining, which revealed the presence of several glycan rich PKDL specific proteins of varying molecular weights. To further characterize the glyco-profile of acid dissociated affinity purified immuno-reactive antigens present in the CICs, glycosylation was demonstrated in these purified CIC antigens by DIG glycan differentiation kit with or without glycosidase as well as neuraminidase treatment. Diagnostic evaluation of the newly developed colorimetric Glyco CIC assay through Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed excellent (0.99) AUC value as compared to other conventional serodiagnostic assays like PEG CIC, Parasite ELISA (IgG and IgM). Additionally, longitudinal monitoring of 18 PKDL patients further revealed its good prognostic utility. Conclusion These results highlight the glycosylation status of CICs among Indian PKDL patients present in all the studied endemic districts of West Bengal. These PKDL biomarkers were completely absent in cross diseases like Vitiligo and Leprosy. Further, the newly developed Glyco CIC assay had an improved sensitivity of 95.6%, specificity of 99.3%, NPV of 97.1% and PPV of 98.9%.

In this paper, we estimate the impact of rebate policies in various US states on the sales share of ENERGY STAR household appliances. We use annual ENERGY STAR sales data for clothes washers, dishwashers, refrigerators and air conditioners from 2001 to 2006 and the variation in the coverage of rebates across US states and over time to identify the impact of rebate policies. We use, at first, a difference-in-differences approach to estimate this impact. Then, we take into account the possibility of rebate policies being endogenous and use instrumental variables approaches in fixed effects panel data regression models. Results suggest that rebate policies increase the sales share of ENERGY STAR household appliances by 3.3 to 6.6 percentage points, and this represents an impact of 9 to 18 % on the mean level of the sales share of ENERGY STAR household appliances in the US between 2001 and 2006. We conclude that rebates on ENERGY STAR appliances increase the uptake of energy-efficient appliances.

Background: Elimination of kala azar from India is challenging as there are potential reservoirs of Leishmania donovani in patients with post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL). The vast repertoire of carbohydrate moieties on L. donovani is known to elicit specific and strong humoral responses in patients with kala azar. Aim: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the diagnostic performances of anti-gal antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for successful serological diagnosis of PKDL in Indian patients and to differentiate cases of past cured visceral leishmaniasis infections. Methods: We developed Gal enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to measure specific anti-gal IgG isotype in the sera of 71 Indian patients with PKDL. The diagnostic efficacy of the newly developed assay was evaluated for precision, sensitivity and accuracy. Results: Gal2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed three-fold increased anti-gal titers in 71 patients with active PKDL compared to controls. Subclass enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis further revealed enhanced IgG2 and IgG3 anti-gal titers in patients with PKDL compared to control subjects. The rank order for specificity and sensitivity for IgG subclasses was IgG3>IgG2>IgG4>IgG1. The area under the curve values of 0.98 and 0.99 were obtained for IgG and IgG3 Gal2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays respectively. Overall sensitivity and specificity were 95.7% (95% CI: 88.1–99.1) and 98.1% (95% confidence interval: 90.1–99.9), and 98.5% (95% CI: 92.4–99.9) and 98.1% (95% CI: 90.1–99.9), respectively. Intra-assay coefficient of variation was 1.5% and inter-assay coefficient of variation was 11.7%. Limitations: The Gal2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay needs to be further investigated in mass surveys. Conclusion: Taken together, anti-gal titers detected through Gal2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay can serve as an effective diagnostic tool in disease elimination setting and help in better case management in endemic districts.

Here, we investigated the quantitative and qualitative differences in antibody classes and subclasses in serum immune complexes (ICs) of Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL), Post Kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) and different cross reactive diseases like Malaria, Leprosy, Vitiligo as compared to control subjects. IC levels were measured through a newly developed PEG ELISA, using L. donovani promastigote membrane antigen coated plate. Antibody classes and subclasses were identified using polyspecific sera and monoclonal antibodies, respectively. ICs were purified using polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation. Conditional logistic regression showed an association between IgG1-containing ICs and increased risk of PKDL (OR = 75, P0.05) and an association of IgG-containing ICs with VL (OR = 621, P = 0.001). PEG ELISA demonstrated almost 13-15 fold higher IgG containing ICs titers in VL as compared to control (P0.001). The assay further established a significant (P0.05) difference in the IgG containing ICs titers between VL and PKDL. The isolated ICs were further analyzed by subjecting them to one-dimensional PAGE and subsequently stained with combination of periodic acid schiff (PAS) with silver. A differential banding pattern between VL and PKDL was obtained. Four distinct bands with carbohydrate rich glycoconjugates were identified in PKDL ICs, which were absent in VL and control group. It suggests the scope for developing a novel differential diagnostic assay.

In this paper we estimate the long- and short-run price elasticities of residential electricity consumption in Switzerland from a household survey by constructing an index of the stock of household appliances as well as by using energy services. We create the index by aggregating the information on the major household appliances. The index is used to estimate the impact of appliances on residential electricity demand. Furthermore, we also use energy services to estimate the electricity demand. We adopt an instrumental variables approach to obtain consistent estimates of the price elasticity to account for potential endogeneity concerns with the average price as well as the appliance index. Our results suggest that the price elasticity is around -0.6. We conclude that Swiss households are price inelastic in electricity prices. This can be used for policy makers as well as by utility companies to design pricing instruments to modify electricity consumption. We also find that estimates of the electricity demand when we substitute the usual residential characteristics with energy services are quite comparable.

In this paper we estimate the increase in the market share of ENERGY STAR-qualified appliances that can be attributed to targetted cash rebates offered by utility companies. To estimate the impact of these incentives we use the variation in timing and size of the utility rebates across the US states. We then use these estimates along with information on the average energy saved by using an ENERGY STAR appliance relative to a non-ENERGY STAR appliance to provide an estimate on the cost per tonne of carbon saved by the rebate program. Our results show that a dollar increase in the rebate leads to a 0.3% increase in the share of ENERGY STAR-qualified clothes washers while the effect of rebates is not significant for dishwashers and refrigerators. Assuming a redemption rate of 40%, we calculate the cost of saving a tonne of carbon through the clothes washer rebate program to be around $158. The corresponding cost of a megawatt hour saved (about $32), is lower than the estimated cost of building and operating an additional power plant and the average on-peak spot price. We conclude that the ENERGY STAR clothes washers rebate programs are a cost-effective way for utilities to reduce energy demand.