Saga of Saras: Part - II: Report of Significant Events/Milestones reached during the making of SARAS Prototype - II and the lessons we learnt from PT - 1

This NAL Project Document highlights the pioneering efforts made by the centre for Civil Aircraft Design and Development in building the SARAS prototype-II. SARAS prototype-II, NAL's 14-seater light transport aircraft had its successful maiden flight on 18 April 2007 at 09:05 a.m. Several improvements have been incorporated in SARAS PT-II compared to the first prototype. Most important among these are the incorporation of higher power engines, Pamp;WC 6A-67A of 1200 hp each and new propellers of larger diameter. The supporting stubwing structure and the engine nacelle have also been modified to suite the new engines. Added to this, significant improvements have been incorporated in the layout of flight control system, avionics and electrical systems. These improvements have brought PT-II much closer to the final production standard aircraft

Prophylactic and therapeutic potential of tender coconut water intervention on antioxidant status in electron beam irradiated Swiss albino mice

656-661Ionizing radiation induces oxidative stress due to free radicals production. The in vitro study has shown that tender coconut water (TCW) of West Coast tall variety exhibits potent antioxidant property. Here, we attempted to evaluate the potency of TCW in reducing radiation induced oxidative stress in the mice model. The LD50/30 dose of electron beam radiation (EBR) for Swiss albino mice was assessed and was found to be 9.33Gy. Therefore, a sublethal dose of 6Gy was selected for further intervention studies to assess the levels of antioxidants. To evaluate the effective dose, the mice were irradiated with a lethal dose of 10Gy with the oral intervention of 50, 100 and 200 µL of TCW/20 g body wt. of mice. Findings of the study suggest that 100 µL/20 g body wt. was found to be effective in decreasing the mortality of irradiated mice. Further, intervention with TCW significantly increased the antioxidant levels compared to that of radiation control group. The results suggest that TCW exhibits radioprotective activity by potentiating the antioxidant levels in mice exposed to a sublethal dose of whole body EBR