Remedial Measures to a Building Settlement Problem

A ten storeyed building, built on a subsoil of an onshore marine soil, was observed to be tilting away from the vertical. Extensive field and laboratory investigations were carried out to establish the reasons for the differential settlement causing the tilting. Though, nearly uniform pressure has been achieved at the foundation level, presence of a soft marine clay layer with varied thickness and location has caused the differential settlement. To arrest further increase in differential settlement, micropiling in the zone of higher settlement and additional loading and lowering of water table in the zone of lower settlement have been carried out as remedial measures. Controlled removal of the silty soil from below the foundation in the low settlement zone has reduced the differential settlement. The performance of the remedial measures has been monitored for more than two years

Screening of phytoactives and antioxidant potentiality in Gymnema sylvestre

Gymnema sylvestre  is  wellknown as “gurmar” for its discrete function as sugar destroyer. It is an excellent herb in the Ayurvedic system of medicine. The herb exhibits a wide range of healing effects as an effectual natural remedy for diabetes, arthritis, asthma , anemia, cardiopathy, constipation diuretic, , hypercholesterolemia,  indigestion ,microbial infections, osteoporosis etc.Realising its importance, The current study was carried out to reveal the distinct phytoactive potentiality in Gymnema sylvestre. It suggested that the antioxidant activities of   Gymnema sylvestre can be used as a natural antioxidant and might be effective to diminish oxidative stress associated with different pathophysiological conditions. Keywords: Gymnema sylvestre , Phytochemicals, antioxidant activity