Prediction of Biological Activity Spectra for Few Anticancer Drugs Derived from Plant Sources

Over the past decade plants have become an interesting source of new classes of pharmacologically active natural products. Some secondary metabolites are also well known for their effectiveness on living species. The PASS (Prediction of Activity Spectra for Substances) computer program, which is able to simultaneously predict more than one thousand biological and toxicological activities from only the structural formulas of the chemicals, was used to predict the biological activity profile of 7 secondary metabolites. PASS predictions were successfully compared to the available information on the pharmacological and toxicological activity of these compounds

In-orbit Performance of UVIT on ASTROSAT

We present the in-orbit performance and the first results from the ultra-violet Imaging telescope (UVIT) on ASTROSAT. UVIT consists of two identical 38cm coaligned telescopes, one for the FUV channel (130-180nm) and the other for the NUV (200-300nm) and VIS (320-550nm) channels, with a field of view of 28 $arcmin$. The FUV and the NUV detectors are operated in the high gain photon counting mode whereas the VIS detector is operated in the low gain integration mode. The FUV and NUV channels have filters and gratings, whereas the VIS channel has filters. The ASTROSAT was launched on 28th September 2015. The performance verification of UVIT was carried out after the opening of the UVIT doors on 30th November 2015, till the end of March 2016 within the allotted time of 50 days for calibration. All the on-board systems were found to be working satisfactorily. During the PV phase, the UVIT observed several calibration sources to characterise the instrument and a few objects to demonstrate the capability of the UVIT. The resolution of the UVIT was found to be about 1.4 - 1.7 $arcsec$ in the FUV and NUV. The sensitivity in various filters were calibrated using standard stars (white dwarfs), to estimate the zero-point magnitudes as well as the flux conversion factor. The gratings were also calibrated to estimate their resolution as well as effective area. The sensitivity of the filters were found to be reduced up to 15\% with respect to the ground calibrations. The sensitivity variation is monitored on a monthly basis. UVIT is all set to roll out science results with its imaging capability with good resolution and large field of view, capability to sample the UV spectral region using different filters and capability to perform variability studies in the UV.Comment: 10 pages, To appear in SPIE conference proceedings, SPIE conference paper, 201

Laboratory Testing and Analysis of Joints for Rigid Pavements

The primary objective of this study was to analyze the concrete pavement system under nonlinear temperature distribution and vehicle wheel loading. The jointed concrete pavement system consists of concrete slabs with transverse and longitudinal joints, dowel bars (across transverse joints), tie bars (across longitudinal joints), subbase and subgrade soil. Under the loading conditions the pavement structural system may fail by cracking of the concrete slab, loss-of-support of slab due to temperature induced curling, closing and opening of joints, and failure of load transfer devices such as dowel bars, etc. In order to understand the cause of these failures or to achieve an economical design, the state of stress in the pavement system should be determined. It is very difficult to predict the stresses accurately in the pavement system with discontinuities and complex support conditions using conventional classical methods. Therefore, this project uses the ANSYS finite element software. A literature review was performed to identify and evolve an accurate finite element model. It was found from this review that there were difficulties in incorporating the dowel-concrete interface, loss-of-support, contact conditions at the joints, nonlinear temperature distribution, etc. Since there has been no systematic comparison between the experiment and theoretical analysis in the past, the present study conducted the following laboratory testing to determine the respective stiffness quantities: (I) Doweled concrete blocks under bending and shear load, (2) Concrete blocks with tie bars under bending and shear load, (3) Concrete blocks with aggregate interlock joints under shear load, and (4) Concrete blocks with sealed joints under shear load The stiffness values derived from these testing procedures is to be used in the evolution of a finite element model for the concrete pavement system. In addition to this, it is recommended that field measurement of temperature distribution through the thickness of the slab be performed. Finally, a full-scale field testing using FWD is also recommended. The test results obtained from this full-scale testing could be used to assess the validity of the finite element model

Binary Metal Oxides Thin Films Prepared from Pulsed Laser Deposition

The semiconductor industry flourished from a simple Si-based metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor to an era of MOSFET-based smart materials. In recent decades, researchers have been replacing all the materials required for the MOSFET device. They replaced the substrate with durable materials, lightweight materials, translucent materials and so on. They have came up with the possibility of replacing dielectric silicon dioxide material with high-grade dielectric materials. Even then the channel shift in the MOSFET was the new trend in MOSFET science. From the bulk to the atomic level, transistors have been curiously researched across the globe for the use of electronic devices. This research was also inspired by the different semiconductor materials relevant to the replacement of the dielectric channel/gate. Study focuses on diverse materials such as zinc oxides (ZnO), electrochromic oxides such as molybdenum oxides (including MoO3 and MoO2) and other binary oxides using ZnO and MoO3. The primary objective of this research is to study pulsed laser deposited thin films such as ZnO, MoO3, binary oxides such as binary ZnO /MoO3, ZnO /TiO2 and ZnO/V2O5 and to analyse their IV properties for FET applications. To achieve the goal, the following working elements have been set: investigation of pulsed laser deposited thin film of metal oxides and thin film of binary metal oxide nanostructures with effects of laser repetition and deposition temperatures

CoRSAL Occasional Publications

This extremely valuable collection of texts in the Lahu language represents the language and culture in the 1960’s, a time when the heritage language and culture were still vibrant and not yet globalized, hence the title Window on a Vanished World. It is also one of the largest collections of texts in any Tibeto-Burman language. The texts are available as a book and online with the audio (originally from 1960’s magnetic tape). This is a massive achievement for all involved in the recording, conversion, and editing

Cardiogoniometry compared to fractional flow reserve at identifying physiologically significant coronary stenosis: The Cardioflow Study

Cardiogoniometry (CGM) is method of 3-dimensional electrocardiographic assessment which has been shown to identify patients with angiographically defined, stable coronary artery disease (CAD). However, angiographic evidence of CAD, does not always correlate to physiologically significant disease. The aim of our study was to assess the ability of CGM to detect physiologically significant coronary stenosis defined by fractional flow reserve (FFR). In a tertiary cardiology centre, elective patients with single vessel CAD were enrolled into a prospective double blinded observational study. A baseline CGM recording was performed at rest. A second CGM recording was performed during the FFR procedure, at the time of adenosine induced maximal hyperaemia. A significant CGM result was defined as an automatically calculated ischaemia score < 0 and a significant FFR ratio was defined as < 0.80. Measures of diagnostic performance (including sensitivity and specificity) were calculated for CGM at rest and during maximal hyperaemia. Forty-five patients were included (aged 61.1 ± 11.0; 60.0% male), of which eighteen (40%) were found to have significant CAD when assessed by FFR. At rest, CGM yielded a sensitivity of 33.3% and specificity of 63.0%. At maximal hyperaemia the sensitivity and specificity of CGM was 71.4 and 50.0% respectively. The diagnostic performance of CGM to detect physiologically significant stable CAD is poor at rest. Although, the diagnostic performance of CGM improves substantially during maximal hyperaemia, it does not reach sufficient levels of accuracy to be used routinely in clinical practice

Prevalence and risk factors of pre-senile lens opacities in the 1969-73 Vellore Birth Cohort

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence and determine predictors of lens opacities (LO) among South Asian Indians aged 41–44 years. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1080 participants from the Vellore Birth Cohort, Vellore, South India. All underwent anthropometric measurements, detailed ophthalmic examination including assessment of LO by LOCS III classification and biochemical metabolic measurements. ‘Any cataract’ was defined as any opacity type with a score of &gt;2 or evidence of cataract surgery in either eye. Data collected included information on ocular history, life-style factors, socio-economic and educational status, cooking fuel and sunlight exposure. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between risk predictors and LO. Results: The mean age (SD) of participants was 41.8 (1.0) years; 53.8% were male and 50% were rural residents. The overall prevalence of ‘any cataract’ was 13.8% (148/1075, 95% confidence interval (CI) 11.8,16.0). The types of cataract were nuclear 59.1%, cortical 16.9%, posterior subcapsular 4.1%, mixed cataracts 18.9% and pseudophakia 0.7%. Increased risk for LO was observed with a history of asthma (OR 4.51; 95% CI 2.1, 9.7), HbA1C of ≥6.5% (OR 2.29; 95% CI 1.4, 3.7), hypertension (OR 1.73; 95% CI 1.1, 2.7) and, in a subgroup (n = 372), lower 25(OH) vitamin D levels (≤20 ng/dL)(OR 5.56; 95% CI 2.3, 13.2). Conclusion: The high prevalence of LO at a relatively young age in South Asian Indians suggests earlier onset of ageing. History of asthma, higher HbA1C, hypertension and lower 25(OH) vitamin D levels were associated with LO