Human Virtues in Kalitthokai

In literature, morality is referred to at several levels. Kalitthokai, one of the Ettutthokai books, deals with the many virtues of life. Helping the poor, hospitality, medicine, and natural ethics are loudly proclaimed to the human race. Many songs show that youth, wealth, body, etc., are not permanent. Like 'Pasumarathani (something learned properly at a young age)', it instills in the mind that living by virtue is the culture and specialty of Tamils. The qualities of the individual and the householder are highlighted. This book is a book that deals with the principles of ethics in a simple way. In the Sangam literature, morality is not insisted upon forcibly, but where necessary it can be seen that moral ideas are suggested in harmony with the theme of the song. Moreover, virtue was codified in harmony with life, and happiness and wealth were regulated to be in harmony with virtue. They convey the ethical thoughts that flow between the songs

COMBINED EFFECT OF SELECTIVE BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS FROM PLANT ORIGIN IN AN ANIMAL MODEL OF ANXIETY

Objective: Evidence is emerging that specific combinations of bioactive compounds may be far more effective in protecting against several diseases as compared to the effect of a single compound. The present study was aimed to investigate the interactive effect of Diosgenin and Silymarin, the bioactive compounds from plant origin in an animal model of anxiety. Methods: Albino wistar rats of either sex were divided into five groups and treated for 5 d. Group I and II served as control and standard and test groups were treated with Diosgenin (100 mg/kg, p. o.), Silymarin (100 mg/kg, p. o.) and combination of Diosgenin (50 mg/kg, p. o.)+Silymarin (50 mg/kg, p. o.), respectively. Diazepam (1 mg/kg, i. p.) was used as a standard for the study. Anxiolytic effects were studied in the Elevated plus-maze, Hole-board test and Light/Dark model. Results: The results suggested that Diosgenin when given alone at a dose of 100 mg/kg, does not shown significant anxiolytic effect when as compared with control. Whereas, the compound Silymarin (100 mg/kg) shown significant anti-anxiety effect (P<0.01), independently. The same two bioactive compounds, given in combination at a dose of 50 mg/kg, (each), exhibited significant anxiolytic-like effect, potentially. Conclusion: It can be concluded that Diosgenin has got a synergistic effect on anti-anxiety action when given in combination with Silymarin

Efficient utilization of xylanase and lipase producing thermophilic marine actinomycetes (Streptomyces albus and Streptomyces hygroscopicus) in the production of ecofriendly alternative energy from waste

The marine actinomycetes strain MAC 6 and MAC 14 were used in the production of xylanase and lipase enzyme using wheat bran as an inducer with oats, soy meal and ground nut oil cake. Two strains showed higher xylanase and lipase activity at pH 10.0 and 50°C among 30 actinomycetes screened from sediments of Tiruchendhur coastal areas of Tamil Nadu. The enzymes were produced by solid state fermentation by using 70% of moisture content. More biogas production was observed in oil cake and straw waste with the pretreatment of xylanase and lipase producing strains within short hydraulic retention time.Key words: Biogas, groundnut oilcake, lipase, marine actinomycete, rice straw, solid state fermentation, thermophilic, wheat bran, xylanase

Ecofriendly application of cellulase and xylanase producing marine Streptomyces clavuligerus as enhancer in biogas production from waste

The marine actinomycete strain MAC 9 was used for the production of cellulase and xylanase from wheat bran with inducers oats and soy meal as substrate. Out of 30 actinomycetes screened from sediments of Tiruchendhur coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, India only 8 strains showed both cellulase and xylanase activity. The marine actinomycete exhibited highest enzyme activity at alkaline pH 8-9 with temperature ranging from 40-55°C. The enzymes were used in pretreatment of rice and wheat straw waste for biogas  production. More biogas production was observed in the agricultural waste with the pretreatment of  cellulase, xylanase and the combination of enzymes.Key words: Biogas, cellulase, energy, marine actinomycete, solid state fermentation, thermophilic, wheat bran, xylanase

A novel scheduling algorithm to maximize the D2D spatial reuse in LTE networks

In order to offload base station (BS) traffic and to enhance efficiency of spectrum, operators can activate many Device-to-Device (D2D) pairs or links in LTE networks. This increases the overall spectral efficiency because the same Resource Blocks (RBs) are used across cellular UEs (CUEs) (i.e., all UEs connected to BS for both C-Plane and D-plane communication) and D2D links (i.e., where the UEs are connected to BS only for C-plane communication). However, significant interference problems can be caused by D2D communications as the same RBs are being shared. In our work, we address this problem by proposing a novel scheduling algorithm, Efficient Scheduling and Power control Algorithm for D2Ds (ESPAD), which reuses the same RBs and tries to maximize the overall network throughput without affecting the CUEs throughput. ESPAD algorithm also ensures that Signal to Noise plus Interference Ratio (SINR) for each of the D2D links is maintained above a certain predefined threshold. The aforementioned properties of ESPAD algorithm makes sure that the CUEs do not experience very high interference from the D2Ds. It is observed that even when the SINRdrop (i.e., maximum permissible drop in SINR of CUEs) is as high as 10 dB, there is no drastic decrease in CUEs throughput (only 3.78%). We also compare our algorithm against other algorithms and show that D2D throughput improves drastically without undermining CUEs throughput

In Vitro Anti-plasmodial activity of Trigonella foenum–graecum L.

Developing countries, where malaria is one of the most prevalent diseases, still rely on traditional medicine as a source for the treatment of this disease. For the present study, Trigonella foenum-graecum L. (fenugreek) were collected from Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. The test plant has been used in India by traditional healers for the treatment of fever as well as other diseases. The active principle was extracted out in different solvent systems to assess the anti-plasmodial potential, with an aim that they can further be utilized to formulate drugs. In vitro anti-plasmodial assay of the extracted fractions of fenugreek leaves was carried out using laboratory adapted chloroquine sensitive and resistant Plasmodium falciparum isolates. Schizont maturation inhibition assay was adopted to analyze the potential of the extracts. Ethanol extract (50%) seemed to possess profound anti-plasmodial activity with IC50 value of 8.75 ± 0.35 µg ml−1 and 10.25 ± 0.35 µg ml−1 against chloroquine sensitive and resistant P. falciparum isolates, respectively. Among the investigated six fractions of the plant extracts, two were found to have significant anti-plasmodial activity with IC50 values <10 µg ml−1, namely ethanol and butanol extracts. Two extracts chloroform and ethyl acetate showed moderate activity with IC50 values ranging from 10 to 20 µg ml−1, and the other two extracts, hexane and water appeared to be inactive with IC50 values >85 µg ml−1. In addition, preliminary phytochemical screening of the various extracts indicated the presence of alkaloids, saponin, tannin like phenolic compounds, flavonoids and steroids

Participatory management for conservation of seahorses in the Gulf of Mannar, South-east coast of India

The Inception Workshop of the research project “Participatory management for conservation of seahorses in the Gulf of Mannar, south-east coast of India” was organized on 27 December 2014 at the Mandapam Regional Centre of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR), Mandapam Camp, Tamil Nadu. The workshop was aimed to mark the beginning of the project activities in the Gulf of Mannar and also to bring to one place all the concerned stakeholders who are directly or indirectly associated with sustainable management of seahorse fishery and conservation, and to inform them about the project, its objectives and the expectations. The workshop was also aimed to discuss and get feedback on the methodology and approach for implementation of the project activities such as field surveys and interviews with the stakeholders. The workshop also focused to gather valuable inputs from various stakeholders, which are vital for the on-going project

Adaptation and mitigation measures for climate change by the dry land farmers

ABSTRACT Due to climate change, there was significant impact on agriculture and allied areas and led to biotic and abiotic stresses. The study focused on the analyzing the awareness of the dryland farmers on the climate change and also the extent of adoption of adaptation and mitigation measures for climate change. Study was conducted in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh with 120 dryland farmers by following appropriate sampling procedure. Structured schedules were prepared for both awareness and adoption of measures for climate change. There was 84.47 percent of awareness on climate related changes followed by 74.27 percent on crop related changes, 73.61 percent on animal husbandry related changes and 61.11 percent on soil&amp; water related changes. The item wise analysis indicates that delayed onset of monsoon, rainfall, temperature, availability of ground water, pests &amp; diseases, drought conditions were the major areas in which farmers were well aware. Increased crop weed competition, reduced quality of produce, Increase in disease transmission, Decreased fertilizer use efficiency were the areas where farmers were not well aware. Intercropping was ranked first in extent of adoption followed by alteration in sowing/ planting dates, micro irrigation systems, use of drought tolerant varieties and use of pest and disease resistant varieties, etc. Very meager percent adoption was observed for crop rotation, high yielding and drought resistant forage crops/varieties, integrated weed management practices, use of suitable breeds/varieties. Strategy consisting of ten broad areas was designed for achieving climate resilient agriculture in dry land areas