Customers Preference Towards Four Wheelers

Car industry in India faces stiff competition. In order to survive in the competitive scenario manufacturers have understand the features considered by the customers before purchasing a car. Thus, an earnest attempt has been made in this study to understand the customer preference before purchasing a car. The result of the study disclose that customers give due importance for look and style, transmission, availability of spares and mileage

Investigation of phytoconstituents of Cardiospermum halicacabum and its efficacy as a potential anti-cancer drug candidate

On the basis of the traditional knowledge of treating solid tumor using Cardiospermum halicacabum gained attention to carry out the present work. The preliminary screening for determination of cytotoxicity of successive extract of C halicacabum (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and ethanol) was performed through brine shrimp lethality assay and yeast growth rate cytotoxicity assay. Among the extracts, chloroform extract of C halicacabum exhibited highest cytotoxicity which was further investigated for anti-proliferative and cytotoxicity property in A-549 lung cancer cell line. Correspondingly, dose dependent effects on reduction of cell proliferation with prominent morphological abnormalities of A-549 cells were observed under treatment with chloroform extract. Hemocompatibility assessment of chloroform extract, by hemolysis assay, revealed its compatibility towards RBC which in turn may prevent heamolytic anemia (myelosuppression) the most adverse effects of cancer chemotherapy.  Phytoconstituents of chloroform extract responsible for the cytotoxicity, anti-proliferative and hemocompatibiltiy was assessed by several chromatographic methods such as TLC, Column chromatography and HPLC which revealed the presence of flavonoids in chloroform extract of C halicacabum. Apparently the isolated flavonoids, in consistence with chloroform extract, exhibited similar effect on inhibition of proliferation of tumor cell line A-549. Therefore it could be evidenced from the current study that the C halicacabum, with its predisposed flavonoids, possesses anti-cancer property with least adverse effect on heamolysis. However detailed investigation on regulation of tumor cell proliferation and hemocompatability is required to bring C halicacabum as a potential candidate for cancer therapy.    Keywords: C halicacabum, Anti-cancer, Toxicity, Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay, Hemolysis

Dielectric, ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of13; (1 x2013; x)[Pb0.91La0.09(Zr0.60Ti0.40)O3]x2013;x[Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3],13; 0 xA3; x xA3; 1

The dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric13; properties of ceramic materials of compositions13; (1 x2013; x)[Pb0.91La0.09(Zr0.60Ti0.40)O3]x2013;x[Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3],13; x = (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0) were studied. The above13; compositions were prepared by mixing the individual13; Pb0.91La0.09(Zr0.60Ti0.40)O3 (PLZT) and Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)13; O3 (PMN) powders in order to design materials with13; different combination of piezo and dielectric properties.13; The powders were calcined at 850 C for 4 h. The presence13; of various phases in the calcined powders was13; characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique.13; The compacts were prepared by uniaxial pressing and13; were sintered at 1250 C for 2 h. The sintered compacts13; were electroded, poled at 2 kV/mm dc voltage and their13; dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties13; were measured. In general, it was observed that the13; dielectric constant, loss factor and the slimness of the13; ferroelectric curves increase with the PMN content13; while the remnant polarization, saturation polarization,13; and the coercive fields were decreased. It is now possible13; to design materials with a wide combination of d33, K,13; and loss factor by varying PLZT and PMN ratio

Chemoprevention with Aqueous Extract of Butea monosperma flowers results in normalization of nuclear morphometry and inhibition of a proliferation marker in liver tumors

Butea monosperma (Lam.) (family: Fabaceae) popularly known as 18Palas 19 or 18fire of forest 19 has been used traditionally as a hepatoprotective agent. This study evaluated the hepatoprotective and antitumorigenic properties of the aqueous extract and butanol fractions of B. monosperma flowers in animal models. Dried flowers of B. monosperma were extracted with water and fractionated further using n-butanol. The hepatoprotective activity of the aqueous extract was initially confirmed in a carbon tetrachloride-induced liver damage model of rats. Oral administration of the aqueous extract produced a strong hepatoprotective effect similar to silymarin and normalized the serum levels of ALT, AST, bilirubin and triglyceride in rats. However, it did not affect the levels of glutathione and malondialdehyde which are oxidative stress markers in liver. Intraperitoneal administration of the aqueous extract in the X15-myc oncomice not only maintained liver architecture and nuclear morphometry but also down-regulated the serum VEGF levels. Immunohistochemical staining of liver sections with anti-Ribosomal protein S27a antibody showed post-treatment abolition of this proliferation marker from the tumor tissue. The butanol fractions, however, did not show antitumorigenic activity. Thus, the aqueous extract of B. monosperma flowers is not only hepatoprotective but also antitumorigenic by preserving the nuclear morphometry of the liver. Copyrigh

Optical absorption and refraction index change of a confined exciton in a spherical quantum dot nanostructure

Electronic energies of an exciton confined in a strained Zn1−xCdxSe/ZnSe quantum dot have been computed as a function of dot radius with various Cd content. Calculations have been performed using Bessel function as an orthonormal basis for different confinement potentials of barrier height considering the internal electric field induced by the spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations. The optical absorption coefficients and the refractive index changes between the ground state (L = 0) and the first excited state (L = 1) are investigated. It is found that the optical properties in the strained ZnCdSe/ZnSe quantum dot are strongly affected by the confinement potentials and the dot radii. The intensity of the total absorption spectra increases for the transition between higher levels. The obtained optical nonlinearity brings out the fact that it should be considered in calculating the optical properties in low dimensional semiconductors especially in quantum dots