Understanding the Problem of Northeast India

The first wave of feminism in India was closely connected to electoral politics, while the second wave turned away from party politics. This resulted in a growing marginalization of feminist concerns from the public agenda. There is a strong relationship between movement success and electoral engagement. This article reviews the history of feminist interventions in electoral politics and demonstrates that early victories for women depended on their participation in party politics. I argue that the creation of the autonomous women's movement has had a diminishing effect on women's progress in recent years. A number of paths remain available to the women's movement to engage with political parties and political leaders. Staying outside the electoral arena has not served Indian feminism well.     

Determinants of people's participation: a study of rural West Bengal,India

This article considers the determinants of people's participation in local level decision-making spaces in rural West Bengal, India. It defines participation from the perspectives of attending meetings, raising issues, making complaints, and making contributions. The results from a sampled household survey in East Midnapore district of West Bengal indicate that better awareness, increase in land holdings, organisational membership, and political affiliation tend to improve participation. Households showing livelihood dependency and entitlement, and belonging to socially and economically weaker sections are more likely to participate. However, the results point towards the possibility of ‘elite capture’ and ‘clientelism’ in participatory spaces.     

Death Due to Coronary Artery Insufficiency Following Blunt Trauma to the Chest

There have been numerous reports of sudden cardiac death following blunt trauma to the chest, but there is lack of such references in forensic literature. It is the court of law which makes decision about trauma precipitating natural events. The forensic pathologist is scientifically trained in the medical field and would be in a better position to give clear picture about the victim's general status at the time of death, exact nature and severity of the illness he is suffering from if any. He can also assess the nature and severity of injuries sustained, and thus, his opinion as to the possible role played by the traumatic event in bringing about the death is valuable. This paper will discuss the mechanism of cardiac injury or possible cardiac injury and sudden death of an apparently healthy 36‐year‐old male following blunt chest trauma sustained during alleged assault by his neighbor.     

An evaluation of the underlying mechanisms of bloodstain pattern analysis error

An experiment was designed to explore the underlying mechanisms of blood disintegration and its subsequent effect on area of origin (AO) calculations. Blood spatter patterns were created through the controlled application of pressurized air (20-80 kPa) for 0.1 msec onto suspended blood droplets (2.7-3.2 mm diameter). The resulting disintegration process was captured using high-speed photography. Straight-line triangulation resulted in a 50% height overestimation, whereas using the lowest calculated height for each spatter pattern reduced this error to 8%. Incorporation of projectile motion resulted in a 28% height underestimation. The AO xy-coordinate was found to be very accurate with a maximum offset of only 4 mm, while AO size calculations were found to be two- to fivefold greater than expected. Subsequently, reverse triangulation analysis revealed the rotational offset for 26% of stains could not be attributed to measurement error, suggesting that some portion of error is inherent in the disintegration process.     

Democratizing the Administrative State: Connecting Neighborhood Councils and City Agencies

Citizen participation in government decision making, especially at the local level, has received heightened attention with regard to its promise for improved governance. The overarching administrative ethos of the administrative state creates barriers to citizen participation in governance. Developing and nurturing citizen participation in the presence of the administrative state is a significant challenge. Drawing on the literary tradition of public engagement and learning, this article models a developmental strategy of participation that offers one avenue for achieving meaningful partnerships between city agencies and neighborhood councils in a metropolitan environment. We present a model of citizen participation that brings neighborhood councils and city agencies together in a collaborative partnership. This model is based on the literature on citizen participation, which focuses on the significance of interactive processes in building trust among participants and creating mutual understanding and agreement.     

Comparative Evaluation of Potentially Radiolucent Projectile Components by Radiographs and Computed Tomography

Projectile components that are traditionally radiolucent can be of considerable importance in determination of weapon type and caliber, but they are often missed on evaluation of postmortem radiographs. We hypothesized that these components would be significantly better visualized by evaluation of computed tomography (CT) scans compared to the practice standard of radiography alone. In this project, potentially radiolucent projectile components were both pulled apart and fired, and the radiolucent components were recovered. These components were embedded in blocks of ballistics gelatin and were imaged using both radiography and CT. The scans were evaluated by three blinded, board‐certified radiologists for the presence/absence of projectile components and true‐negative regions in each block. If a radiologist indicated visualization of a projectile component, they were further requested to describe their observation. It was found that traditionally radiolucent projectile components are not significantly more often identified on CT scans than radiography (p < 0.05).     

Air Pollution from Cement Plants: Case Study on Particulate Matter in Bihar,India

Abstract

Environmental pollution and its impact is a major challenge for this age of industrialization and urbanization. It is becoming difficult to breathe fresh air in the cities and industrial areas. Both indoor and outdoor air quality is becoming worse day by day. A study has been conducted to find out the level of particulate matter concentration inside a village near to a cement plant located in Bihar, India to know the impact of the cement plant on the ambient environment. The present study clearly indicates that during night time particulate matter concentrations of the village environment were high compared to the day times. It is also observed that there is a high concentration of particulate matter in the ambient air compared to WHO air quality guideline values in both the cases(day times and night times) due to emission from the nearby cement plant. Hence this study suggests that the cement plants and other similar industries should take proper actions to maintain the air quality standard in the ambient areas.In the last part of the article some of the pollution control techniqueshas been discussed in brief which would be helpful to the industries to improve their environmental sustainability targets.     

Can computed tomography replace or supplement autopsy?

Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) has been integrated into the practice of many forensic pathologists. To evaluate the utility of PMCT in supplementing and/or supplanting medicolegal autopsy, we conducted a prospective double-blind comparison of abnormal findings reported by the autopsy pathologist with those reported by a radiologist reviewing the PMCT. We reviewed 890 cases: 167 with blunt force injury (BFI), 63 with pediatric trauma (under 5 years), 203 firearm injuries, and 457 drug poisoning deaths. Autopsy and radiology reports were coded using the Abbreviated Injury Scale and abnormal findings and cause of death (COD) were compared for congruence in consensus conferences with novel pathologists and radiologists. Overall sensitivity for recognizing abnormal findings was 71% for PMCT and 74.6% for autopsy. Sensitivities for PMCT/autopsy were 74%/73.1% for BFI, 61.5%/71.4% for pediatric trauma, 84.9%/83.7% for firearm injuries, and 56.5%/66.4% for drug poisoning deaths. COD assigned by reviewing PMCT/autopsy was correct in 88%/95.8% of BFI cases, 99%/99.5% of firearm fatalities, 82.5%/98.5% of pediatric trauma deaths, and 84%/100% of drug poisoning deaths of individuals younger than 50. Both autopsy and PMCT were imperfect in recognizing injuries. However, both methods identified the most important findings and are sufficient to establish COD in cases of BFI, pediatric trauma, firearm injuries and drug poisoning in individuals younger than 50. Ideally, all forensic pathologists would have access to a CT scanner and a consulting radiologist. This would allow a flexible approach that meets the diagnostic needs of each case and best serves decedents' families and other stakeholders.