Electrically modulated photoluminescence in ferroelectric liquid crystal

Electrical modulation and switching of photoluminescence (PL) have been demonstrated in pure deformed helix ferroelectric liquid crystal (DHFLC) material. The PL intensity increases and peak position shifts towards lower wavelength above a threshold voltage which continues up to a saturation voltage. This is attributed to the helix unwinding phenomenon in the DHFLC on the application of an electric field. Moreover, the PL intensity could be switched between high intensity (field-on) and low intensity (field-off) positions. These studies would add a new dimension to ferroelectric liquid crystal's application in the area of optical devices.Comment: 4 figure

A comparative study of manual vaccum aspiration (MVA) & electric vaccum aspiration (EVA) for pregnancy termination of upto 10 weeks gestation

Background: Induced abortion in first trimester is one of the commonly performed operations in obstetrics. Unsafe abortions kill about 70,000 women annually. So, methods of early pregnancy termination commonly used like, Manual Vaccum Aspiration (MVA) & Electric Vaccum Aspiration (EVA) are compared in this study. The objective was to compare the safety and efficacy of MVA and EVA in early pregnancy termination.Methods: Two hundred pregnant women of gestation upto 10weeks wanting first trimester pregnancy termination were subjected to either MVA or EVA. Age of the patient, gravidity, period of gestation, time taken for the procedure, blood loss, complications and duration of hospital stay were studied.Results: 37% patients in MVA had grade I pain and 54% patients in EVA had grade IV pain. 72% cases in MVA had grade I bleeding & 48% in EVA had grade II bleeding. The bleeding after MVA procedure was less as compared to EVA. Common complications noted were incomplete abortion (1% in MVA & 4% in EVA), and cervical laceration (none in MVA and 3% in EVA). Cervical laceration was common in EVA during insertion of rigid metallic cannula. In MVA, mean average time taken is less by 5-6 minutes and average blood loss is also less by 8ml as compared to EVA. Women were discharged in 6-8 hours and 12-16 hours in MVA & EVA respectively.Conclusions: Women undergoing MVA had overall satisfaction with relation to pain, blood loss, & duration of hospital stay. MVA had 99% success rate. So, MVA is safe and effective in abortions upto 10weeks gestation with less complication than EVA

Ethnomedicinal wisdom of tribals of Mahur forest of Nanded district, Maharashtra, India.

Mahur range forest of Nanded district is rich in medicinal plants. In the present paper 25 plants species belonging to 25 genera and 20 families used in folk medicine has been documented. Due to poor condition of modern healthcare facilities and poverty the tribal people and rustics of the forest fully or partially depend on local medicinal plants. An attempt has been made to document traditional knowledge from tribal people, medicinal practitioner, traditional healers medicinemen, herbal venders, rustics etc. The plants were enumerated alphabetically along with botanical name, family and vernacular name.&nbsp

Estimation of mortality rates, exploitation rates and ratios of Lepturacanthus savala (Cuvier) and Eupleurogrammus muticus (Gray)

The contribution of ribonfish to the total fish catch in the world has gone up from 1.1% in 1990 to 1.8% in 1998. However, ever since the pressure has increased in the coastal waters, the catches have started showing signs of decline. The same is also reflected in two species, Lepturacanthus savala and Eupleurogrammus muticus recorded from the dol net in Mumbai waters. In the present investigation the mortality rates and ratios of two species of ribbonfish are recorded. The pooled total, natural and fishing mortality of the former species is 4.15, 1.30, and 2.86 respectively whereas that of the latter species is 4.31, 1.15 and 3.16 respectively. The pooled exploitation ratio (E) and exploitation rate (U) of L. savala and E. muticus were 0.68 & 0.66 and 0.73 & 0.72 respectively. Though for both the species the E is well beyond the optimum E of 0.5, for E.muticus it is very much on the higher side. Thus, a reduction in the fishing effort is required to prevent future damage to the stock

Memory effect in weakly anchored surfaces of deformed helix ferroelectric liquid crystals

A wide-range memory effect in deformed helix ferroelectric liquid crystals (DHFLCs) has been investigated by electro-optical and textural methods. A comparative study has been performed on strongly and weakly anchored surfaces of DHFLC cells. The saturation voltage has been compared in both types of cells by studying the variation of tilt angle and spontaneous polarization with applied voltage. The long-lasting memory effect has been observed in untreated (weakly anchored) cells. It has been proposed that perfect memory in DHFLC cells without any surface treatment is due to the possibility of the absence of depolarization and ionic charges over the surfaces of the cells

A conceptual study on Charakokta Bhaishajya Pareeksha Vidhi and it’s significance

Ayurveda is a holistic science which explains Karana Dravyas and Karya Drayas in its basic principles. Dravya (drug) one which gives shelter (Ashraya) to Guna and Karma in an inherent relation.[1] Dravyaguna Shashtra is the science which mainly deals with Dravya, Guna, Karma, Rasa, Veerya, Vipaka of drug in detail.[2] The Prakruti and action of Dravya mainly depends on its Panchabhoutika constituents, Rasa, Guna, Veerya, Vipaka, Prabhava etc. of Dravya. For Dravyabhuta Chikitsa Dravya should be examined for the factors like Prakruti (nature of Dravya), Guna (Qualities of Dravya), Prabhava (Specific actions), Desha (Habitant or place of growth), Rutu (Season of collection), Gruhita (mode of collection), Nihita (Method of preservation), Upaskrutya (Method of Processing), Matra (Dosage), Doshaapakarshana, Upashamana all these factors should be assessed properly before selecting a Dravya for Chikitsa.[3] According to Ayurveda, Bhashajya or Dravya placed as important among Chikitsa Chatuspada. The Dravya is basic need for the Chikitsa without which Chikitsa is not possible so to have better therapeutic results in treatement Bhaishajya Pareeksha Vidhi plays a major role. Acharya Charaka has explained Bhaishajya Pareeksha Vidhi or Dravya Pareeksha Vidhi in detail in Charaka Vimana 8/87 which has great significance in thearapeutic results by selecting drug for Chikitsa after considering Charakokta Bhaishajya Pareeksha Vidhi

Influence of pre-bloom sprays of benzyladenine on in vitro recovery of hybrid embryos from crosses of Thompson Seedless and 8 seeded varieties of grape (Vitis spp.)

The present investigations are part of a study to introgress downy mildew resistance in Thompson Seedless through breeding and in ovulo embryo rescue methods. The influence of sprays of benzyladenine (BA) at prebloom and bloom on the percentage of embryo recovery, germination and development of hybrid plants is described. BA gave mixed results among the 8 cross combinations. With some crosses, BA drastically improved these parameters. In almost all crosses, germination increased significantly with BA sprays. The influence on plant development and recovery depended on BA treatment and the male parent

SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND EVALUATION OF 4-HYDROXY-1-PHENYL/METHYL-3-(3-SUBSTITUTED-1-(SUBSTITUTEDIMINO) PROPYL) QUINOLINE-2(1H)-ONE DERIVATIVES AND 4-HYDROXY-1-PHENYL/METHYL-3-(1-(SUBSTITUEDIMINO) ETHYL) QUINOLINE-2(1H)-ONE DERIVATIVES AS POSSIBLE ANTICANCER AGENTS

Objective: Synthesis, characterization and evaluation of quinolin-2-one derivatives as possible anticancer agents.Methods: A series of novel 4-hydroxy-1-phenyl/methyl-3-(3-substituted-1-(substitutedimino)propyl)quinolin-2(1H)-one derivatives IIa(1-5)/IIb(1-5) and 4-hydroxy-1-phenyl/methyl-3-(1-(substituedimino)ethyl)quinolin-2(1H)-one derivatives IIIa(1-3)/IIIb(1-3) were synthesised by nucleophilic addition of substituted anilines on 3-acetyl-4-hydroxy-1-phenyl/methylquinolin-2(1H)-one (a/b) and 4-hydroxy-3-(3-substitutedpropanoyl)-1-phenyl/methyl quinolin-2(1H)-one (Ia/Ib); respectively. The synthesised derivatives were characterised by spectral analysis and were tested for their in vitro anticancer activity against K562 and Hep 3b cell lines by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay method.Results: The compounds were tested for their in vitro anticancer activity against K562 and Hep 3b cell lines at 10, 20, 25, 30 and 50 µg/ml concentration using MTT assay method. The compound 4-hydroxy-3-(3-morpholino-1-(phenylimino)propyl)-1-phenylquinolin-2(1H)-one (IIa-1) showed anticancer activity with IC50 value 20 µg as compared to the control against K562 cell lines. The compound 4-hydroxy-1-phenyl-3-(1-(phenylimino) ethyl) quinolin-2(1H)-one (IIIa-1) showed anticancer activity with IC50 value less than 10 µg.Conclusion: The proposed method for the synthesis of novel derivatives is convenient and gives a good yield. Some of the synthesised compounds showed promising anticancer activity against K562 and Hep 3b cell lines. Compound IIa-1 (R=-C6H5; R1= morpholine; R2= C6H5-NH-) exhibited most potent activity against K562 cell lines. Compound IIIa-1 (R=-C6H5; R3= C6H5-NH-) has been proved to be the most cytotoxic compound among the other derivatives against Hep 3b cell lines

Soil fertility as influenced by alternate sequential cropping systems to rice-rice (Oryza sativa L.) in Tunga Bhadra project area

A field experiment was carried out in farmers field near Agriculture Research Station, Siruguppa in Karnataka during kharif and rabi of 2014-15 to Study influence of alternate sequential copping systems to rice-rice (Oryza sativa L.) system on fertility status of soil in Tunga Bhadra Project (TBP) Area. The experimental site was medium deep black with soil pH (8.01), EC (0.54 dS m-1), available nitrogen (240.80 kg ha-1), P2O5 (22.90 kg ha-1) and K2O (347.49 kg ha-1). The experiment comprised of seven sequential cropping systems viz., T1: Rice-maize, T2: Rice-sorghum, T3: Rice-chickpea, T4: Rice-sesame, T5: Maize-chickpea, T6: Cotton-sesame and T7: Rice-rice. These treatments were laid out in completely randomized block design with three replications. The study revealed that significantly higher rice equivalent yield (REY) was recorded in cotton-sesame cropping system (13117 kg ha-1) compared to rest of the cropping systems. Significantly higher system productivity was recorded with maize-chickpea (35.94 REY kg ha-1 day-1) cropping system and it was significantly superior over existing rice-rice (26.89 REY kg ha-1day-1) cropping systems. Significantly higher available nitrogen (210.21 kg ha-1) and P2O5 (34.22 kgha-1) in soil was noticed with ricechickpea cropping system whereas significantly higher available K2O was obtained after the harvest of rice-rice cropping system (330.10 kg ha-1). The cotton-sesame and maize-chickpea crop sequences are more productive and sustainable as they improve the productivity and fertility status of soil when compared to other cropping sequences and can be a better option for the farmers of the Tunga Bhadra Project area, Karnataka

Identification of groundnut genotypes resistant to iron deficiency chlorosis

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is the second most important oilseed in India, which is mainly grown in states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. More than one-third of the soils in India are calcareous and spread mostly in the low rainfall areas of the western and central parts of the country where groundnut is a major crop. As calcareous soils are deficient in available iron (Fe2+), iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) is more prevalent in Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Marathwada region of Maharashtra, and parts of Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka causing significant reduction in yield (Singh et al., 2004). Iron deficiency leads to interveinal chlorosis of younger leaves, while under severe deficiency they turn into white and papery and further as brown and necrotic. Genetic variability for resistance to IDC has been reported earlier in groundnut (Samdur et al., 2000; Li and Yan-Xi, 2007). Cultivation of IDC resistant cultivars in calcareous soils is economically feasible and sustainable approach compared to application of iron containing fertilizers through soil or foliar spray