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The taxonomy of Ophiorrhiza pectinata Arn., is discussed here with a detailed description, nomenclature, colour photographs and distribution map. Besides, the name O. falcata Bedd., is lectotypified and relegated to a heterotypic synonym of O. pectinata.

Ophiorrhiza incarnata C.E.C.Fisch. (Rubiaceae), a threatened plant species of southern Western Ghats is rediscovered from the adjacent area of the type locality after lapse of eight decades. Its distribution and conservation status are discussed.

The genus Impatiens Linnaeus (1753: 937) contains a wealth of untapped treasures for gardeners and it is one of the mega diverse genera of angiosperms comprise about 1059 species (POWO 2020). According to the recent estimate, India is known to have 250 species and majority of them occur in Eastern Himalayas (Gogoi et al. 2018) and the Western Ghats (Bhaskar 2012). Tamil Nadu is one of the plant-rich states in the country and with 5674 angiosperm taxa, it ranks first among all the states in the country (Lakshminarasimhan et al. 2014).

The purpose of this study is to explore the pickering emulsion liquid membrane (PELM) performance for removing divalent lead ions (Pb II) from aqueous solution. In the present work, the membrane phase was prepared by dissolving methyltrioctylammonium chloride (Aliquat 336) with Mahua oil and adding oleic acid coated-ferrosoferric oxide (OA-Fe

In a powerful account that draws on personal experience, this chapter explains how traditional “values” have relentlessly crushed freedom of expression not only in caste-ridden Tamil society but also in Indian society as a whole. It reflects on the meaning of the term, and considers how these “values” have impinged upon the chapter’s author’s own life and development. The chapter notes the lack of freedom of expression that we have in our dealings with parents, elders and teachers, and how rigid the Indian value system is with respect to caste, government, and gender relationships. The glaring inequalities in everyday life must be addressed, and the social values that underpin them, Only then will freedom of expression be possible, on the basis of equality.

Purpose: This work presents the measure of fundamental interaction parameters like mass attenuation coefficient (µ/ρ), mean energy, total atomic (σa) and electronic (σe) cross section, effective atomic number (Zeff), electron density (Nel) and mean free path (mfp) using FF and UF megavoltage x-ray beam for high Z implants. Methods: Narrow beam geometry is used to find out mass attenuation coefficient (µ/ρ) (MAC) which is then used to calculate mean energy (using NIST data), total atomic (σa) and electronic cross section (σe) for different energies. The effective atomic number (Zeff), Electron density (Nel), mean free path (mfp) for both flattened and unflattened x-ray beams for high Z material stainless steel (SS316) and titanium alloy (Grade 5) are studied. Results: The mean energies calculated from NIST data against mass attenuation coefficient were in good agreement with Monte Carlo value. It shows that spectral weighted effective atomic number is independent of megavoltage energies in the Compton region. Effective electron density calculated using Zeff and MAC method is lesser compared to direct method for both high Z materials. The mean free path (mfp) is higher along the central axis than off-axis for flattened beam in comparison to unflattened beam for both of the high Z materials studied because of the variation in energy spectrum for both FF and UF x-ray beams. Conclusion: This study elaborated the fundamental interaction parameters of different energies of flattened and unflattened x-ray beam interactions with high Z materials such as Stainless Steel (SS316) and Titanium (Grade5) relevant in a clinical scenario.

Murugan, Perumal, Murugan, Chidambaram, Karthigeyan, Kaliyamurthy (2021): Typification of twelve names in the genus Anaphalis DC. (Asteraceae). Adansonia (3) 43 (17): 197-204, DOI: 10.5252/adansonia2021v43a17

Purpose: The aim of this work is to study the dosimetric parameters of newly introduced 2.5 MV imaging x-ray beam used as inline imaging to do setup verification of the patient undergoing radiation therapy. As this x-ray beam is in megavoltage range but comprises of a lower energy spectrum. It is essential to study the pros and cons of 2.5 MV imaging x-ray beam for clinical use. Methods: The mean energy was calculated using the NIST XCOM table through MAC. Profile analysis was done using RFA to understand the percentage depth dose, degree of unflatteness, symmetry, penumbra and out of field dose. Dose to skin for the 2.5 MV x-ray beam was analysed for field sizes 10x10 cm2, 20x20 cm2, 30x30 cm2. Leakage measurements for treatment head and at the patient plane were done using IEC 819/98 protocol. Finally, the spatial resolution and contrast were analyzed with and without patient scatter medium. Results: The MAC at 15 cm off-axis was found to be lower than that at the CAX. Similarly, there was a decrease in mean energy from 0.47 MV to 0.37 MV at 15 cm off-axis. The reduction of mean energy towards off-axis is lower than the other high energy MV x-ray beams. The tuned absolute dose of 1 cGy/MU is consistent and within < ±1 %. The relative output factors were found to be in correlation with Co-60. The beam quality of 2.5 MV x-ray beam was found to be 0.4771. The profile parameters like the degree of unflatness of the 2.5 x-ray beam were studied at 85 %, 90 %, 95 % lateral distances, and the penumbra at different depth and field sizes are higher than the 6 MV treatment beam. In addition, out of field dose also drastically increases to a maximum of up to 30 % laterally at 5cm at deeper depths. The skin dose increases from 48.51 % to 88.15 % from 6 MV to 2.5 MV x-ray beam for the field size 10x10 cm2. Also, the skin dose increases from 88.15 % to 91.78 % from the field size 10x10 cm2 to 30x30 cm2. Although the measured leakage radiation for 2.5 MV x-ray beam at the patient plane and other than patient planes are with the tolerance limit, an increase in exposure towards gantry side compared to other areas around treatment head and the patient plane may lead to more skin dose to head and chest while imaging pelvis region. The MLC transmission of 2.5 MV x-ray beam such as inter, intra and edge effect are 0.40 %, 0.37 % and 11% respectively. The spatial resolution of 2.0, 1.25 and 0.9 LP/mm was observed for KV, 2.5MV, and 6 MV x-ray beams. The spatial resolution and contrast of 2.5 MV x-ray beam are superior to 6 MV x-ray beam and inferior to KV x-rays. Conclusions: The 2.5 MV x-ray imaging beam is analysed in view of beam characteristics and radiation safety to understand the above-studied concepts while using this imaging beam in a clinical situation. In future, if 2.5MV x-ray beam is used for treatment purpose with increased dose rate, the above-studied notions can be incorporated prior to implementation.

Purpose Addition of high Z implants in the treatment vicinity or beam path is unavoidable in certain clinical situation. In this work, we study the properties of radiation interaction parameters such as mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), x ray beam transmission factor (indirect beam attenuation), interface effects like backscatter dose perturbation factor (BSDF) and forward dose perturbation factor (FDPF) for flattened (FF) and unflattened (UF) x ray beams. Methods MAC for stainless steel and titanium alloy was measured using CC13 chamber with appropriate buildup in narrow beam geometry. The x ray beam transmission factors were measured for stainless steel and titanium alloy for different field size, off‐axis, and depths. Profile analysis was performed using a radiation field analyzer (RFA) as a function of field size and depth to study the influence of phantom scattering and spectral variation in the beam. In addition, interface effects such as BSDF and FDPF were measured with gafchromic films at maximum BSDF peak position calculated using Acuros XB algorithm and with PPC40 chamber measured at exit side of high Z material, respectively. Results The MAC in both cases decreases with increase in energy for stainless steel (SS) and titanium (Ti) alloy. The MAC increases with the change in x ray beam type from flattened to UF beam because of relatively lower mean energy. The x ray beam transmission factor increases with the increase in energy, field size, and depth owing to increase in penetration power phantom scatter, respectively. The measured BSDF and FDPF were found to be in good agreement with AXB algorithm. Conclusion The dosimetric properties of x ray photon beam were studied comprehensively in the presence of high Z material like stainless steel and titanium alloy using both flattened and UF beams to understand and incorporate the findings of various parameters in clinical condition due to the variation in energy spectrum from FF to UF x ray beam.

We report the synthesis of functionalised quinolin-2-(1H)-one analogues by a one-pot approach through a tandem consecutive Ugi-4CR/intramolecular alkyne-carbonyl metathesis (ACM) type reaction, in which Pd(OAc)2 is used as a catalyst in the presence of acetic acid. The first step is the preparation of an Ugi-4CR intermediate using simple precursors 2′-aminoacetophenone and cyclohexyl isocyanide with various propiolic acids and aldehydes.

The genus Themeda Forsskål (1775: 178) comprises 29 species which are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World, mainly in Asia (Chen & Phillips 2006; Kellogg, 2015; Veldkamp 2016). In India, the genus is represented by about 17 species, including five endemic species (Bor 1960, Sreekumar & Nair 1991, Kabeer & Nair 2009, Singh et al. 2015). While studying the herbarium specimens of Themeda housed at CAL, we found that the name Anthistiria strigosa Buchanan-Hamilton ex Hooker (1896: 214), the basionym of Themeda strigosa (Buchanan-Hamilton ex Hooker) Camus (1920: 423), needs to be typified.

The genus Lophopogon Hackel (1887: 26) is endemic to India (Singh et al . 2015) and is represented by two species, viz. L. kingii Hook. f. (1896: 149) and L. tridentatus (Roxburgh) Hackel (1889: 254). The distribution of L. kingii is restricted to Bihar and Odisha (Chandramohan et al. 2016; Tiwari et al. 2017), whereas L. tridentatus is more widespread, distributed in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. (Bor 1960; Singh & Deshpande 1980; Sur 2004; Kabeer et al. 2009). On critical study and survey of literature, it was found that the name L. tridentatus needs to be typified.

Sensor data analysis at Scania deal with large amount of data collected from vehicles. Each time a Scania vehicle enters a workshop, a large number of variables are collected and stored in a RDBMS at high speed. Sensor data is numeric and is stored in a Data Warehouse. Ad-hoc analyses are performed on this data using Business Intelligence (BI) tools like SAS. There are challenges in using traditional database that are studied to identify improvement areas. Sensor data is huge and is growing at a rapid pace. It can be categorized as BigData for Scania. This problem is studied to define ideal properties for a high performance and scalable database solution. Distributed database products are studied to find interesting products for the problem. A desirable solution is a distributed computational cluster, where most of the computations are done locally in storage nodes to fully utilize local machine’s memory, and CPU and minimize network load. There is a plethora of distributed database products categorized under NoSQL and NewSQL. There is a large variety of NoSQL products that manage Organizations data in a distributed fashion. NoSQL products typically have advantage as improved scalability and disadvantages like lacking BI tool support and weaker consistency. There is an emerging category of distributed databases known as NewSQL databases that are relational data stores and they are designed to meet the demand for high performance and scalability. In this paper, an exploratory study was performed to find suitable products among these two categories. One product from each category was selected based on comparative study for practical implementation and the production data was imported to the solutions. Performance for a common use case (median computation) was measured and compared. Based on these comparisons, recommendations were provided for a suitable distributed product for Sensor data analysis.

Background: Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) represent a class of high affinity cell surface receptors that play a critical role in the development and progression of several types of cancers. Among the receptor tyrosine kinases, c-Met mediates diverse cellular responses critical for tumor progression, growth, and survival. Alteration of the c-Met signalling cascade represents an attractive approach aimed at blocking invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. The objective of this study was to investigate the pharmacological and pharmacokinetic properties of RP1040, a novel small-molecule inhibitor of c-Met kinase. Methods: c-Met Kinase activity of RP1040 was determined using using an HTScan® recombinant human Met Kinase Assay Kit (Cell Signaling Technology, Beverly, MA) with modifications. Viability assay (MTT) was conducted to determine the growth inhibitory effect of the compound on the high c-Met expressing sk-LMS-1 cell line. Metabolic stability of the compound was evaluated in microsomes obtained from mouse, rat, dog, monkey, and human. Pharmacokinetic behaviour of RP1040 in plasma after single dose oral administration or IV injection was determined in male Wistar rats. Results: RP1040 demonstrated remarkable potency against the purified Met kinase by inhibiting enzyme activity at low nanomolar concentrations (IC50 = 1.3 nM). In addition, the compound caused a significant reduction in viability of sk-LMS-1 cells stimulated with 100 ng/ml HGF (IC50 = 0.03 nM). Pharmacokinetic studies indicated good oral absorption of RP1040 with plasma concentrations above 100 nM up to 24 h post administration. The compound had an elimination half-life of 8.95 hr with a clearance value of 4.21 ml/min/kg indicating a propensity to act as a long acting drug in this class. Further, RP1040 was metabolically stable across the species studied. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that RP1040 is a potent c-Met kinase inhibitor with a favourable pharmacokinetic profile and superior IC50 values compared to existing c-Met kinase inhibitors in development. RP1040 is currently being tested for in vitro and in vivo efficacy across various cancer cell lines and xenograft models besides selectivity against other receptor tyrosine kinases. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12 Suppl):C212.