From Kingdoms to Transregional States: Exploring the Dynamics of State Formation in Pre-modern Odisha

In what is today known as Odisha and in its adjoining areas, the closing centuries of the first millennium ce and beyond were marked by the shift from usual kingdoms to larger and more complex state systems, spread over several subregions/regions ( maṇḍalas). The socio-economic and cultural processes—ranging from agrarian growth and the rise of markets, merchants and towns to the shaping of a region-specific caste system and vernacular language and literature—which sustained these political developments and the new requirements such as the elaboration in the structure of administration and legitimation constitute the subject matter of this article. The transregional states under discussion are somewhat comparable with imperial formations insofar as they were conquest states and perpetuated unevenness and differences between spaces, peoples and cultures across the constituent spatial segments. However, in terms of their territorial dimensions and resources, they fell short of the empires and therefore may be seen to be located between the usual kingdoms and celebrated empires.

Experimental studies on graphite powder-mixed electro-discharge machining of Inconel 718 super alloys: Comparison with conventional electro-discharge machining

Liquid jet breakup unsteadiness in a coaxial air-blast atomizer

Antibacterial Activity of Geraniol in Combination with Standard Antibiotics against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Helicobacter pylori

The antibacterial activity of geraniol and its effect in combination with ampicillin, amoxicillin and clarithromycin against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Helicobacter pylori was tested. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and combinatory effects of geraniol against the bacteria were assessed by using the modified broth microdilution and checkerboard assay, respectively. The combinatory effect is expressed as fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI). The MIC of geraniol against S. aureus, E. coli and H. pylori was found to be 11200, 5600, and 7325 μg/mL, respectively. A significant synergistic effect was observed with geraniol and ampicillin against S. aureus with FICI in the range 0.19 to 0.32. Geraniol and ampicillin exhibited a partial synergistic effect against E. coli. A similar effect was observed with geraniol and clarithromycin against S. aureus. A partial synergistic effect was observed with clarithromycin and geraniol against H. pylori with the FICI value in the range 0.86 to 0.89. An additive effect was observed with geraniol and amoxicillin combination against H. pylori. However, the amoxicillin and clarithromycin dose was reduced by thirty-two fold when combined with geraniol against H. pylori. The anti- H. pylori effect of geraniol with clarithromycin and amoxicillin could be of potential interest in the treatment of H. pylori infection and associated ulcers in humans. Further, geraniol, in combination with other antibiotics, has substantial therapeutic potential against S. aureus and E.coli infection.

Arrhythmias in Children in Early Postoperative Period After Cardiac Surgery

Background: Postoperative arrhythmias are a known complication after cardiac surgical repairs for congenital heart disease.Methods: Data were reviewed pertaining to incidence, diagnosis, potential risk factors, and management of postoperative arrhythmias in 369 consecutive patients under 18 years of age, undergoing elective open heart surgery. All children were admitted to the intensive care unit and continuous electrocardiographic monitoring was performed. Patient factors such as Aristotle Basic Complexity Score, total surgical duration, hypotension, tachycardia, serum lactate level, and inotropic score were analyzed. Univariate analysis was done to assess associations between these factors and the occurrence of postoperative arrhythmias.Results: Twenty-five (6.7%) patients developed arrhythmias. Junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) was the most common arrhythmia occurring in 15 (60%) patients, followed by supraventricular tachycardia in 3 (12%), ventricular premature contractions in 3 (12%), hemodynamically unstable ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation in 3 (12%), and atrial fibrillation in 1 (4%) patient. Different grades of heart block were noted in 13 patients. Aristotle score (P = .014), total surgical duration (P < .01), hypotension (P = .02), heart rate (beats per minute) (P = .001), serum lactate level (P = .04), and inotropic score (P = .02) in the early postoperative period were associated with arrhythmia occurrence. Surgeries for ventricular septal defect alone or in association with other diseases including tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and transposition of the great arteries (TGA) were found to be associated with higher risk of arrhythmias.Conclusion: This study showed a low incidence of arrhythmias, JET being the commonest, seen more in TOF repair and these could be treated efficiently. Higher Aristotle score, longer surgical time, hypotension, tachycardia, high inotropic score, and high serum lactate levels were associated with the occurrence of arrhythmias postoperatively.

Total contact casting versus traditional dressing in diabetic foot ulcers

This study compared the treatment of total contact casting (TCC) with traditional dressing treatment (TD) in the management of neuropathic diabetic plantar ulcers. Thirty-one patients with plantar ulcers without any gross infection, osteomyelitis or gangrene were randomly assigned to the TCC group (n = 15) or TD group (n = 16). In the experimental group, TCC was applied on the initial visit and subjects were instructed to limit ambulation to one-third of their usual activity. Subjects in the control group (TD) were prescribed dressing changes and were advised against bearing weight on the involved extremity. Ulcers were considered healed if they showed complete skin closure with no drainage. Ulcers were considered not healed if they showed no decrease in size by 6 weeks or if infection developed requiring hospitalization. In the TCC group, 12 of 15 ulcers healed in 48 ± 7 days; in the TD group, 10 of 16 ulcers healed in 58 ± 9 days. Comparatively higher rate of ulcer healing with fewer infections was seen in the TCC group. We conclude TCC is a more effective method than dressing for treating diabetic plantar ulcers reducing the risks of amputation.

Hypercalcemia- Leukocytosis Syndrome: A Rare Ominous Indicator in Lung Cancer

A Collective Study on Modeling and Simulation of Resistive Random Access Memory

In this work, we provide a comprehensive discussion on the various models proposed for the design and description of resistive random access memory (RRAM), being a nascent technology is heavily reliant on accurate models to develop efficient working designs and standardize its implementation across devices. This review provides detailed information regarding the various physical methodologies considered for developing models for RRAM devices. It covers all the important models reported till now and elucidates their features and limitations. Various additional effects and anomalies arising from memristive system have been addressed, and the solutions provided by the models to these problems have been shown as well. All the fundamental concepts of RRAM model development such as device operation, switching dynamics, and current-voltage relationships are covered in detail in this work. Popular models proposed by Chua, HP Labs, Yakopcic, TEAM, Stanford/ASU, Ielmini, Berco-Tseng, and many others have been compared and analyzed extensively on various parameters. The working and implementations of the window functions like Joglekar, Biolek, Prodromakis, etc. has been presented and compared as well. New well-defined modeling concepts have been discussed which increase the applicability and accuracy of the models. The use of these concepts brings forth several improvements in the existing models, which have been enumerated in this work. Following the template presented, highly accurate models would be developed which will vastly help future model developers and the modeling community.

Design, synthesis, ADME prediction and pharmacological evaluation of novel benzimidazole-1,2,3-triazole-sulfonamide hybrids as antimicrobial and antiproliferative agents

Background Nitrogen heterocyclic rings and sulfonamides have attracted attention of several researchers. Results A series of regioselective imidazole-based mono- and bis-1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazole-sulfonamide conjugates 4a – f and 6a – f were designed and synthesized. The first step in the synthesis was a regioselective propargylation in the presence of the appropriate basic catalyst (Et 3 N and/or K 2 CO 3 ) to afford the corresponding mono- 2 and bis-propargylated imidazoles 5 . Second, the ligation of the terminal C≡C bond of mono- 2 and/or bis alkynes 5 to the azide building blocks of sulfa drugs 3a – f using optimized conditions for a Huisgen copper (I)-catalysed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction yielded targeted 1,2,3-triazole hybrids 4a – f and 6a – f . The newly synthesized compounds were screened for their in vitro antimicrobial and antiproliferative activities. Among the synthesized compounds, compound 6a emerged as the most potent antimicrobial agent with MIC values ranging between 32 and 64 µg/mL. All synthesized molecules were evaluated against three aggressive human cancer cell lines, PC-3, HepG2, and HEK293, and revealed sufficient antiproliferative activities with IC 50 values in the micromolar range (55–106 μM). Furthermore, we conducted a receptor-based electrostatic analysis of their electronic, steric and hydrophobic properties, and the results were in good agreement with the experimental results. In silico  ADMET prediction studies also supported the experimental biological results and indicated that all compounds are nonmutagenic and noncarcinogenic. Conclusion In summary, we have successfully synthesized novel targeted benzimidazole-1,2,3-triazole-sulfonamide hybrids through 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions between the mono- or bis-alkynes based on imidazole and the appropriate sulfonamide azide under the optimized Cu(I) click conditions. The structures of newly synthesized sulfonamide hybrids were confirmed by means of spectroscopic analysis. All newly synthesized compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial and antiproliferative activities. Our results showed that the benzimidazole-1,2,3-triazole-sulfonamide hybrids inhibited microbial and fungal strains within MIC values from 32 to 64 μg/mL. The antiproliferative evaluation of the synthesized compounds showed sufficient antiproliferative activities with IC 50 values in the micromolar range (55–106 μM). In conclusion, compound 6a has remarkable antimicrobial activity. Pharmacophore elucidation of the compounds was performed based on in silico ADMET evaluation of the tested compounds. Screening results of drug-likeness rules showed that all compounds follow the accepted rules, meet the criteria of drug-likeness and follow Lipinski’s rule of five. In addition, the toxicity results showed that all compounds are nonmutagenic and noncarcinogenic.

Communication efficient distributed weighted non-linear least squares estimation

The paper addresses design and analysis of communication-efficient distributed algorithms for solving weighted non-linear least squares problems in multi-agent networks. Communication efficiency is highly relevant in modern applications like cyber-physical systems and the Internet of things, where a significant portion of the involved devices have energy constraints in terms of limited battery power. Furthermore, non-linear models arise frequently in such systems, e.g., with power grid state estimation. In this paper, we develop and analyze a non-linear communication-efficient distributed algorithm dubbed \(\mathcal {CREDO-NL}\) (non-linear \(\mathcal {CREDO}\)). \(\mathcal {CREDO-NL}\) generalizes the recently proposed linear method \(\mathcal {CREDO}\) (Communication efficient REcursive Distributed estimatOr) to non-linear models. We establish for a broad class of non-linear least squares problems and generic underlying multi-agent network topologies \(\mathcal {CREDO-NL}\)’s strong consistency. Furthermore, we demonstrate communication efficiency of the method, both theoretically and by simulation examples. For the former, we rigorously prove that \(\mathcal {CREDO-NL}\) achieves significantly faster mean squared error rates in terms of the elapsed communication cost over existing alternatives. For the latter, the considered simulation experiments show communication savings by at least an order of magnitude.