The "Prabodhacandrodaya" of Krsnamisra: A critical edition of the text, with an introduction and essay on the development of allegorical literature in Sanskrit.

More than a century ago the late Mr. Brookhaus brought out an edition of Krsnamisra's Prabodhacandrodaya. Before he published his work, the drama had already been printed in India. Both these editions are of little value; as the former is based on the direct descendants of one codex and the latter is merely a print. Years passed but no serious attempts were made to prepare a critical edition of the drama. In the years 1908 and 1912 Dr. W.E.Clark planned to publish an edition, but for one reason or another his work was held up for long; consequently he altogether abandoned the idea of sending his work to the press. In 1936 K.Sambasiva Sastri of Trivandrum, the editor of the Trivandinan Sanskrit Series, published the text of the drama in that series. This edition, we are told, is based on MSS., but the editor gives only the names and whereabouts of their possessors and is, strangely enough, silent about the authenticity of the MSS. themselves. This edition too, is far from being satisfactory, as I have pointed out in my introduction. Since the drama's first appearance, the Prabodhacandrodaya has been translated into many modem European languages and has also been repeatedly printed, but no one has ever tried a critical hand on it. The other aspects of the drama, such as the philosophical thought, allegory, c., have remained unexplored. The present edition is the result of a careful study of not less than 17 MSG. and 5 printed works of the play. Further, in the introduction an attempt has been made to fix the author's date precisely and also to furnish the background for the development of Krsnainisra's philosophical and religious views. Moreover, the history of the allegorical literature from the Rgvedic period, wherein the allegory is in the making, to the end of the Classical period, where it appears in its bloom, has been summarised; a task never before attempted

Modelling the Cutting Process and Cutting Performance in Abrasive Water jet Machining Using Genetic-Fuzzy Approach

AbstractUnconventional machining processes are used only when no other traditional machining process can meet the necessary requirements efficiently and economically. Abrasive Waterjet Machining (AWJM) is one of the most recently developed mechanical type unconventional hybrid manufacturing technologies. It is superior to many other cutting techniques in processing various materials, particularly in processing difficult to cut materials. This technology is being increase used in various industries. Therefore, optimum choice of the process parameters is essential for the economic, efficient, and effective utilization of these processes. Process parameters of AWJM are generally selected either based on the experience, and expertise of the operator or from the propriety machining handbooks. In most of the cases, selected parameters are conservative and far from the optimum. This hinders optimum utilization of the process capabilities. Selecting optimum values of process parameters without optimization requires elaborate experimentation which is costly, time consuming, and tedious. Process parameters optimization of AWJM essential for exploiting their potentials and capabilities to the fullest extent economically. This paper presents a Fuzzy Logic (FL) - based modeling of AWJM process and optimization of its rule base, data base and consequent part utilizing a Genetic Algorithm (GA). A binary coded GA has been used for the said purpose. While modeling with FL, the output parameters, namely Material Removal Rate (MRR) and Surface Finish (Ra) have been predicted for different combinations of process parameters, such as waterjet pressure at the nozzle exit diameter of abrasive-water jet nozzle traverse or feed rate of the nozzle mass flow rate of water and mass flow rate of abrasives between nozzle and the work piece

Phytochemical investigations, in-vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial potential, and in-silico computational docking analysis of Euphorbia milii Des Moul

Euphorbia milii Des Moul is a deciduous bush indigenous to Madagascar. The present study aims to investigate the presence of the phytochemical, in-vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial potency, and in-silico computational analysis of ethanolic and aqueous preparations of E. milii leaves and flowers. The ethanolic and aqueous extracts were tested for in-vitro antioxidant activity by DPPH, H2O2, TAC, and FRAP assay. In addition, antimicrobial potentials were assayed by agar well diffusion technique against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans for various clinical isolates. The qualitative phytochemical analysis results confirmed the existence of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, and tannins. The quantitative analysis elicits the availability of a magnificent number of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, flavonols, and tannins. Among all the extracts, aqueous extracts of leaves exhibited potent antioxidant activity in DPPH, FRAP, and H2O2 assay with the IC50 value of 30.70, 60.05, and 82.92µg/mL, respectively. In agar well diffusion assay, all extracts displayed zone of inhibition varies from 2-24mm at different concentrations ranging from 10-320 mg/mL, whereas no activity was observed against Candida albicans. Furthermore, docking-based computational analysis has revealed that beta-sitosterol and taraxerol are the plant's active constituents responsible for their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Research findings suggest that the E. milii plant has an excellent prospect for further study for its extended antioxidative and antimicrobial potential. It could be a natural source of various ailments and can be utilized to develop new drugs

A study of Smad4, Smad6 and Smad7 in Surgically Resected Samples of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma and Their Correlation with Clinicopathological Parameters and Patient Survival

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Smad4 is the common mediator of the tumor suppressive functions of TGF-beta. Smad6 and Smad7 are the antagonists of the TGF-beta pathway. This study investigates the differential protein expressions of Smad4, Smad6 and Smad7 in tumor as compared to normal tissue of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and compares them with clinicopathological parameters and patient survival.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was a significant difference in protein expressions of Smad4 (p = 0.0001), Smad6 (p = 0.0015) and Smad7 (p = 0.0005) protein in tumor as compared to paired normal samples. Loss of Smad7 expression correlated significantly with tumor size (r = 0.421, p < 0.036) and margin status (r = 0.431; p < .032). Patients with moderate to high Smad4 protein expression had a better survival (median survival = 14.600 ± 2.112 months) than patients with absent or weak Smad4 protein expression (median survival = 7.150 ± 0.662). In addition, advanced disease stage correlated significantly with poor prognosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Loss of Smad4 significantly correlated with poor survival of PDAC patients. In the cases where Smad4 is expressed, Smad6 inhibition is possibly a novel mechanism for Smad4 inactivation. Smad7 has a role in pathobiology of PDAC. Further investigation in the roles of Smad6 and Smad7 would help in the identification of novel therapeutic targets for PDAC.</p

NITI Aayog’s INDIA – Three year action agenda 2017-18 to 2019-20: Review and analysis

Review and Analysis of NITI Aayog's India : Three Year Action Agenda 2017-18 to 2019- 20 released on 24th August 2017 at Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi. The agenda has been widely appreciated in media, by economists and others. However, the NITI Aayog should have focused on out of the box solutions instead of following a trodden path. Most of the actions suggested are opinion based rather than on logical derivation considering the targets and also financial, technical and other resource constraints and challenges. The agenda for India set by the highest and most powerful think tank of the country suffers from several weaknesses. It does not identify goals and also constraints. Any agenda in the short run or medium or long run can be of no meaningful purpose if it does not identify goals and constraints. Leaving long term vision to be done at the IInd and IIIrd stage is not justified. Several important sectors have been left out in Action Agenda.Revisión y análisis de NITI Aayog's India: Agenda de Acción Trianual 2017-18 a 2019- 20, publicada el 24 de agosto de 2017 en Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi. La agenda ha sido muy apreciada en los medios de comunicación por los economistas, entre otros. Sin embargo, la NITI Aayong debería haberse centrado en soluciones imaginativas en vez de seguir un camino trillado. La mayoría de las acciones sugeridas tienen base en la opinión más que en una derivación lógica a la luz tanto de los objetivos como de las limitaciones financieras, técnicas y de otros recursos y de los retos. La agenda para India establecida por el grupo de expertos más alto y más poderoso del país adolece de varias debilidades. No identifica los objetivos, ni tampoco las limitaciones. Cualquier agenda, en el corto, medio o largo plazo puede incorporar propósitos carentes de significado si no identifica los objetivos y las limitaciones. No está justificado el hecho de dejar la visión a largo plazo para la segunda y tercera etapa. Varios sectores de gran relevancia han quedado fuera en la Agenda de Acción

Tyrosine-specific protein kinases of normal tissues

Tyrosine-specific protein kinases from normal tissue have been studied using synthetic peptides as substrate. Spleen had much higher activity of the enzyme in the particulate fraction than any other normal tissue (exept purified T lymphocytes). The tyrosine protein kinase from the particulate fraction of rat spleen was partially purified and characterized. The kinase could phosphorylate src-related as well as unrelated peptides and casein at tyrosine residues. The enzyme in the membrane seemed to have somewhat different substrate specificity than the solubilized, partially purified enzyme. Serum containing antibody to pp60v-src did not precipitate the kinase; however, the protein kinase could phosphorylate the heavy chain of IgG from TBR serum (but not from normal serum). The possible relationship of the tyrosine-specific protein kinase of spleen with pp60c-src and other tyrosine-specific protein kinases is discussed