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The region of Gulpha Marma different anatomical structures; one important anatomical structure present here is the tibial nerve (posterior tibial nerve). Percutaneous stimulation of the tibial nerve is used in modern therapeutics for neuromodulation in various complaints of pelvic pain and urinary incontinence. In Gulpha marma therapy, there is possible stimulation of the posterior tibial nerve by the applied pressure, which may then carry out neuromodulation of pain. This is just an idea of how Gulpha marma therapy might work, and extensive research is needed to be carried out to evaluate its effect and possible pathway. KEYWORDS:Gulpha marma, Gulpha Marma therapy.

An experiment entitled, Influence of pre cut foliar application of plant growth substances on multiplication of pomegranate through sub apical cutting was carried out with two factors viz., time of cutting three levels and plant growth substances with four repetitions.The results of the study revealed that, significantly early sprouting (9.61 days), maximum number of shoots (2.41) and shoot length (10.85 cm) per cutting at 60 days after planting, maximum number of roots (8.40) and root length (7.61 cm) per cutting at 60 days after planting was recorded with treatment c1 (Cutting taken at 3 days after spraying). Among the treatments of growth substances, significantly early sprouting (9.27 days), highest survival percentage (80.98) at 45 days after planting, highest length shoot per cutting at 60 days after planting (12.08 cm), maximum number of roots (9.36) and root length (8.47 cm) per cutting at 60 days after planting was recorded with treatment p1 (spray of ethrel 1000 ppm). Use of pomegranate cutting after three days of foliar spray of ethrel 1000 ppm on mother plant for getting early sprouting, highest survival, maximum number and length of shoots and roots of cutting under green house.

Background: Obesity is a complex health and global epidemic issue. It is an increasing global health challenge covering high social and economic costs. Abnormal accumulation of fat in the body may increase health risks, including diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and cancer. Synthetic drugs available in the market are reported to have several side effects. Therefore, the management of obesity needs to involve the traditional use of medicinal plants, which helps in searching for new therapeutic targets and supports the research and development of anti-obesity drugs. Objective: This review aimed to update the data and provide a comprehensive report on currently available knowledge regarding medicinal plants and phytochemicals constituents reported for their anti-obesity activity. Methodology: An electronic search of the periodical databases, like Web of Science, Scopus, Pub- Med, Scielo, Niscair, ScienceDirect, Springerlink, Wiley, SciFinder, and Google Scholar with information reported during 1991-2019, was made to retrieve published data. Results: This review attempts to list the medicinal plants with anti-obesity activity. It focuses on plant extracts, isolated chemical compounds, their mechanism of action, and preclinical, experimental model, and clinical studies for further scientific research. Conclusion: This review summarizes the medicinal plants and their constituents reported for the management of obesity. The data will fascinate the researcher to initiate further research that may lead to the discovery of a drug for the management of obesity and its associated secondary complications. Several herbal plants and their respective lead constituents have been screened by preclinical in-vitro and in-vivo clinical trials and were found to be effective in treating obesity. Therefore, there is a need to develop and screen a large number of plant extracts, and this approach can surely be a driving force for discovering anti-obesity drugs from medicinal plants.

Learning outcomes The learning outcomes of this paper are as follows: to identify the pros and cons of waged employment and entrepreneurship, to identify the contextual factors influencing entrepreneurship, to set up a new venture, namely, steps, challenges involved and decision-making process, to scale up a small business; when, how and where? And to tradeoff required for scaling up a small business. Case overview/synopsis Pooja, a young management graduate from Varanasi, decided to overcome all challenges and barriers faced by a women entrepreneur and chase her lifelong dream of creating her own event management startup. After having achieved phenomenal success in a short period of time within the city, she began to receive interest from neighbouring cities as well. The decision to scale up operations was particularly difficult for Pooja, as she had funded the venture through her personal funds and personally nurtured the business and her team based on the values of quality and creativity. Like any small business, she had to decide what level of trade-off was required between scaling and dilution of control over the operations. Complexity academic level The case study is applicable for students of management. The learnings from the case can be applied by an individual who is looking to start a business or expand one. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Blockchain technology has been used in many industries providing security and preventing fraud so it can be beneficial in the medical industry too. One of the most essential blockchain features that can be implemented in the healthcare sector is that by recording every change across the peer-to-peer network, every transaction is validated. Since clinical trials require fast, reliable and transparent ways to locate patient’s data, blockchain could be the possible solution. Effective supply chain management is a challenge in every sector but in healthcare, it comes with added complexity and risk as it is related with the patient’s health and safety. Effective management of the healthcare supply chain (HCSC) process is critical for healthcare providers not only during pandemics such as COVID-19 but also in their normal operations. Despite many advances in new technologies and treatment options, the providers still suffer from poor procurement, ordering, forecasting, and distribution practices. Hence, blockchain can be the potential solution for the security, integrity and functionality of health supply chain.

PurposeThe study analyzes significant parameters defining the credit worthiness, economic viability and managerial efficiency of special purpose vehicles (SPVs) of infrastructure development firms engaged in the execution of road projects under PPP model in India.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on a comprehensive review of credit rating reports of major rating agencies. In particular, 18 special purpose vehicles (13 BOT-toll–based and 5 BOT-annuity–based road projects) during the period 2010–2019 were considered to conduct a comparative analysis of their rating progression. Considering both financial as well as nonfinancial parameters, their segregation was done on the basis of strengths, constraints and key rating sensitivities influencing the ratings of SPVs involved in road projects under PPP model.FindingsPromoters' credibility emerged as an important factor affecting PPP credit ratings. Other prominent factors included nature of stretch and regulatory terms and conditions and the project's potential to generate cash flows. Inability of PPP projects to generate the projected levels of toll collections was a major constraint and hampered ratings over time. Growth in traffic was a key sensitive area in a toll-based project. Interestingly, despite the fixed nature of revenues, BOT (annuity) projects were impacted by rating changes.Research limitations/implicationsFewer sample projects (for which the data were available) was a constraint. Future research could consider larger data sets to provide deeper insights. An examination of credit rating parameters using rating reports of projects in other developing nations could provide meaningful implications. The findings of this research however cannot be undermined as the study bridges a gap in existing literature pertaining to the examination of PPP model from a credit rating perspective.Practical implicationsThis study would guide project developers, government agencies and awarding agencies of PPP road projects to anticipate the challenges and take adequate steps to mitigate them.Originality/valueResearch in the area of PPP projects is skewed toward risk assessment with respect to financial parameters. The present study emphasizes the rating framework of SPVs. Comprehensive examination of factors affecting project ratings in the form of projects' strengths, constraints and sensitivities would provide inputs to academics and researchers.

A field experiment on the influence of different organic sources of nutrients on growth and flowering behaviour of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cv. Bhagwa was conducted at College Farm, College of Horticulture, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Jagudan, District-Mehsana in Gujarat, India during Mrig bahar (June-January) 2017-18 and 2018-19. The present investigation was laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replications consisting of twenty-two treatments with four different organic manures viz., farmyard manure, vermicompost, poultry manure and neem cake as a source of nitrogen and recommended dose of manure and fertilizers based on plant age with or without biofertilizers (Azotobacter, PSB & KMB) and biopesticides (Trichoderma viride and Paecilomyces lilacinus). The results based on pooled data revealed that a maximum number of hermaphrodite flowers (85.17) and incomplete flowers (96.50) up to two months after treatment application, fruit set (69.45 %) along with minimum fruit drop (13.18 %) and days taken for marketable picking (168.83) were significantly (@5%) noted under treatment 100 % RDN through poultry manure + 50 ml PSB + 25 ml KMB + 5 g Trichoderma viride + 5 ml Paecilomyces lilacinus. However, significantly (@5%) highest incremental primary growth parameters viz., plant height (0.60 m), plant spread (E-W: 0.41 m and N-S: 0.43 m) and stem girth (1.47 cm) after two months of treatment application were observed under treatment 100 % RDN through vermicompost + 50 ml PSB + 25 ml KMB + 5 g Trichoderma viride + 5 ml Paecilomyces lilacinus. Thus, the organic sources viz., vermicompost and poultry manure with biofertilizers and biopesticides would be very helpful for enhancing vegetative growth and flowering behaviour of the pomegranate.

Purpose This study aims to present the experimental and computational performance analysis in compact plate heat exchanger (PHE) using graphene oxide nanofluids at different concentrations and flow rate. Design/methodology/approach Field emission scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction were used to characterize graphene oxide nanoparticles. The nanofluid samples were prepared by varying volume concentration. Zeta potential test was done to check stability of samples. The thermophysical properties of samples have been experimentally measured. The experimental setup of PHE with 60° chevron angle has also been developed. The numerical analysis is done using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model having similar geometry as of the actual plate. Distilled water at fixed temperature and flow rate is used in hot side tank. Nanofluid at fixed temperature with varying concentration and flow rate is used in cold side tank as coolant. Findings The numerical and experimental results were compared and found that both results were in good agreement. The results showed ∼13% improvement in thermal conductivity, ∼14% heat transfer rate (HTR), ∼9% in effectiveness and ∼10% in overall heat transfer coefficient at cost of pressure drop and pumping power using nanofluid. Exergy loss also decreased using nanofluid at optimum concentration of 1 Vol.%. Originality/value The CFD model can be significant to analyze temperature, pressure and flow distribution in heat exchanger which is impossible otherwise. This study gives ease to predict PHE performance with high accuracy without performing the experiment.

Pollination in date palm is a necessary, laborious, and cost-involving operation for successful fruit set. However, if the pollination is unsuccessful, its fruits develop into parthenocarpic fruits which do not possess economic value. To reduce the effort, it is necessary to ascertain the duration of pistillate receptivity of the date palm for which an experiment was conducted at Date palm Research Station, Mundra, Kachchh, India, to understand the pistillate receptivity in date palm cv. Barhee. The experiment was conducted for 4 years (2014–2017), where pollination was done every day from 1 day to 10 days after anthesis (spathe opening) in randomly selected bunches which was replicated three times in randomized block design. The proportion of pollinated fruits among all the fruit present (including unpollinated parthenocarpic fruit) was observed and recorded along with their respective bunch weight. Higher proportion of pollinated fruits were observed when the female inflorescence pollinated in the first 4 days and higher bunch weight was observed in the first 2 days of pollination after spathe opening.

Vegetables are grown worldwide and play an important role in human diets because they provide vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and phytochemicals. Asia produces and consumes more than 70% of the world’s vegetables. Their production and consumption are rising due to increase in consumer’s income. Vegetables are also associated with improvement of gastrointestinal health, good vision, and reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, chronic diseases such as diabetes, and some forms of cancer. The consumption and caloric contribution of vegetables to the diet vary widely with geographical region, nationality, local customs and cuisine. Vegetable production suffers from many biotic stresses caused by pathogens, pests, and weeds and requires high amounts of plant protection products per hectare. US vegetables farmers are benefiting from growing transgenic squash cultivars resistant to Zucchini yellow mosaic virus, Watermelon mosaic virus, and Cucumber mosaic virus, which were deregulated and commercialized since the mid- 1990s. Bt-sweet corn has also proven effective for control of some lepidopteran species and continues to be accepted in the fresh market in the United States, and Btfresh- market hybrids are released each year. Likewise, transgenic Bt-eggplant was bred to reduce pesticide use and hopefully will soon be grown by farmers in Asia. There are other vegetable crops in the pipeline that have been genetically modified to enhance their host plant resistance to insects and plant pathogens (including viruses), to show herbicide tolerance, and to improve features such as slow ripening that extends the shelf-life of the produce, high nutritional status, seedless fruit, and increased sweetness. Transgenic plant breeding therefore provides genetically enhanced seed embedded technology that contributes to integrated pest management in vegetable production by reducing pesticide sprays as well as improving food safety by minimizing pesticide residues. Furthermore, herbicide-tolerant transgenic crops can help reducing plough in fields, thereby saving fuel because of less tractor use, which also protects the structure of the soil by reducing its erosion. Transgenic vegetable crops could make important contributions to sustainable vegetable production in this 21st century. However, countries vary in their market standards of acceptance of transgenic crops. Biotechnology products will be successful if clear advantages and safety are demonstrated to both growers and consumers.

An experiment entitled, influence of different shoot portion and media on vegetative propagation of pomegranate was carried out with two factors viz; shoot portion with three levels and media with seven levels making total twenty one treatment combinations. Experiment was laid out in Factorial Completely Randomized Design with three replications. The results of the present investigation on the basis of pooled data revealed that, minimum days to sprouting (11.33) was recorded with treatment s1 (Apical) whereas, significantly highest length of shoot (9.79 cm), maximum number of roots (8.92) and length of root (8.96 cm) was recorded with treatment s2 (Sub-apical). Among different treatments of media, significantly early sprouting (11.14 days), maximum number of roots per cutting (8.40) and highest length of roots per cutting (8.81 cm) and highest shoot length (9.36 cm) at 60 DAP were observed with treatment m4 (Vermiculite: Poultry Manure [1:1]+ Pseudomonas). Use of sub-apical cutting with Vermiculite: Poultry Manure [1:1]+ Pseudomonas media in plug tray for early sprouting, highest shoot and root parameters of pomegranate under greenhouse condition.

Ancient Ayurvedic literature described 107 vital regions of the body and considered them as a seat of prana (life force) and collectively termed them as marma. The applied aspect of this concept, marma chikitsa or marma therapy, is gaining popularity as it is being practiced by many clinicians in which these marma are stimulated in different ways to treat different diseases. Hypertension is one of the major disorders affecting majority of the world population. Inspite of available antihypertensive therapies, the hypertensive population of not only the older age group, but also of that of young adults is increasing. Blood pressure normalising effect of marma therapy is observed by clinicians practicing marma therapy due to its holistic effect on the body. Clinical data regarding efficacy of this therapy is very sparse and hence, its application in different diseases remained unexplored till date. This case report is of a young hypertensive male whose blood pressure significantly improved with Talahridaya marma therapy. This patient was detected with raised blood pressure on repetitive examinations. The volunteer was subjected to Talahridaya marma therapy where his classical Talahridaya marma point on left upper limb was physically stimulated in controlled way for 10 days and the patient was also taught to perform the therapy on himself. The blood pressure was recorded, both before and after giving the therapy on each day. The volunteer showed significant improvement in his blood pressure recordings.

Background: Plants contributed numerous novel compounds for prophylactic and curative medicine to modern science. They are an important source of natural agents used in various pharmaceutical industries. Himalayan plants are abundant in various secondary metabolites, such as anthraquinones, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, and terpenes. The Himalayan plants are grown in high altitudes and have around 6500 years old history as traditional medicines. Aim: This review article systematically presents information on Himalayan medicinal plants having anti-cancer potentials. Methodology: Around 160 articles were reviewed using online search engines, like PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and floras of different Himalayan countries. Results: An attempt has been made to review anti-cancer plants and active constituents isolated from several anti-cancerous plants of Himalayan regions. Eighty-three anti-cancer plants are reported in this review, and a total of twenty-two active chemical constituents, including phenolic compounds, glycosides, terpenoids, and alkaloids from the plants, were reported active against various cancer cell lines. Conclusion: Several synthetic agents are used to cure cancer, but many undesired side effects occur during chemotherapy. Hence, the research is going on to investigate natural therapies, such as the use of plant-derived products in cancer treatment. They may reduce adverse side effects.

Limiting starch bioavailability by modifying food matrix dynamics has evolved over the decade, which further envisions low glycemic starch prototypes to tackle chronic hyperglycemia. The dense matrix of whole grain foods like millets and cereals act as a suitable model to understand the dynamics of binary food matrix interactions between starch-lipid, starch-protein & starch-fiber. The state and types of matrix component (lipid/protein/fiber) which interact at various scales alters the starch micro configuration and limits the digestibility, but the mechanism is largely been ignored. Various in-vitro and in-vivo studies have deciphered the varied dimensions of physical interactions through depletion or augmentation studies to correlate towards a natural matrix and its low glycemic nature. The current chapter briefly encompasses the concept of food matrix types and binary interactions in mediating the glycemic amplitude of starch. We comprehensively elaborated and conceptually explained various approaches, which investigated the role of food matrices as complex real food systems or as fundamental approaches to defining the mechanisms. It’s a fact that multiple food matrix interaction studies at a time are difficult but it’s critical to understand the molecular interaction of matrix components to correlate in-vivo processes, which will assist in designing novel food prototypes in the future.

Vildagliptin (VDG)is a frontier drug for diabetes mellitus. It is prescribed both in the monotherapy as well as in an amalgamation with other antidiabetic drugs. Drug-serum protein binding is an essential parameter which influences ADME properties of the drug. In current study, binding of VDG with serum protein (bovine serum albumin: BSA) was investigated using multi-spectroscopic techniques. A computational approach was also employed to identify the binding affinity of VDG with BSA at both Sudlow I and II sites. An enzyme activity assay specific for esterase was also investigated to know the post-binding consequences of VDG with BSA. Fluorescence spectra of BSA samples treated with VDG shows static quenching with binding parameters for VDG-BSA complex show single class of equivalent binding stoichiometry(n = 1.331) and binding constant 1.1 x 104M−1 at 298.15 K. The binding constant indicates important role of non-polar interactions in the binding process. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) analysis of VDG absorption spectra and emission spectrum of BSA confirmed no significant resonance in energy transfer. Synchronous fluorescence of BSA after binding with VDG show maximum changes in emission intensity at tryptophan (Trp) residues. Post binding with VDG, BSA conformation changes as suggested by circular dichorism (CD) spectra of BSA and this lead to enhanced protein stability as indicated by a thermal melting curve of BSA. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

India has made good progress toward meeting basic standards of access to safe drinking water, but improved planning methods are needed to prioritize different levels and types of water service needs for public investment. This paper presents a planning approach for collecting, analyzing, and mapping drinking water service data at the village, block, and district levels in Pune district, Maharashtra, India. The planning approach created a mobile application for data collection by gram sevaks at the village level. It employed ranking methods developed with district officers to prioritize villages with the greatest needs, cluster analysis to distinguish different types of needs, and geographic information system (GIS) mapping to visualize the spatial distribution of those needs. This analysis shows that there are high levels of spatial heterogeneity in water services within, as well as between, blocks but also that there are broad patterns of priorities for planning and policy purposes. These priorities include water service needs in the Western Ghats, a combination of water source and service needs in dissected plateau lands, source strengthening in the eastern plains, and local hot spots in peri-urban areas. Based on this Pune district case study, the Government of Maharashtra is testing the approach in five additional districts.

A 51-kiloton magnetised Iron Calorimeter (ICAL) detector, using Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) as active detector elements, aims to study atmospheric neutrinos. A prototype - 1/600 of the weight of ICAL, called mini-ICAL was installed in the INO transit campus at Madurai. A modest proof-of-principle cosmic muon veto detector of about 1 m × 1 m × 0.3 m dimensions was setup a few years ago, using scintillator paddles. The measured cosmic muon veto efficiency of 99.98% and simulation studies of muon-induced background events in the ICAL detector surrounded by an efficient veto detector were promising. This led to the idea of constructing a bigger cosmic muon veto around the mini-ICAL detector. Details of the design and construction of the detector including the electronics, trigger and DAQ systems planned will be briefly presented.

India has a long history of policies that aim to improve rural drinking water services, through various combinations of state support and decentralization that face deeply rooted institutional challenges. These include debates about: the duty of the state to provide rural drinking water supply; tension over the role of central, state, and local governments; and frequent changes in policy and senior public officials that disrupt long-term implementation. Some water governance theorists have described policy-making in this context as a pragmatic process of bricolage, that is, of piecing together practical opportunities for improvement where possible. This paper takes a macrohistorical geographic approach to these institutional problems, with an emphasis on northern India. It shows that ancient sources dating back to the Arthashastra have underscored the role of the state in developing water supplies for the people. Subsequent regimes have advocated various combinations of centralized and local responsibility to fulfill drinking water needs. We show that frequent rotation of senior public officials was actually systematized in the sixteenth century Mughal empire. Changing roles of India’s five levels of center, state, district, block, and village government have a half-millennium-long history, evolving through the dramatically different Mughal, Maratha, colonial, and post-colonial contexts. Devolution policies were frequently changed in the colonial period. Independence in 1947 and a constitutional amendment in 1993 increased emphasis on devolution to Panchayati Raj Institutions at district, block, and village levels, but without resolving the functional and structural relations among them. This macrohistorical geographic perspective on water institutions offers insights into current issues and prospects for drinking water reform in India.