Educomp Solutions (India)

Background: Previous work had shown the ability of an aqueous leaf and stem extract of Cissus quandrangularis (300 mg of CQR, CQR-300) to improve components of metabolic syndrome (MS) in overweight individuals.Objective: This small pilot study aimed to confirm the efficacy of CQR-300 in reducing the percentage body fat measured using two different methods—bioelectrical impedance assay versus dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).Design: The study was an 8-week double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial on 67 individuals who were requested by a dietary counselor to maintain their normal exercise and dietary routines. Participants were randomly divided into two groups, placebo (32 participants) and the CQR-300 group (35 participants), and received 300 mg of corn starch or CQR-300 daily.Methods: Body fat was measured by bioelectrical impedance using a TANITA impedance meter and by DEXA, with blood samples taken at baseline and at 8 weeks for the measurement of lipid parameters.Results: After 8 weeks of treatment, participants of the placebo group showed a 1.05% decrease in body fat as determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis, but no difference using DEXA. In the same time period, the CQR-300 group had an 8.9% and 12.8% decreases in the body fat as measured by impedance and DEXA, respectively. These values were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than the placebo. Compared with the placebo, the CQR-300 group demonstrated significant (p < 0.05) decreases in the waist and hip circumferences, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, total cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting blood glucose, as well as leptin levels. On the contrary, there were significant (p < 0.05) increases in HDL-cholesterol and adiponectin levels.Conclusion:CQR-300 administered as a single 300 mg dose daily was effective in reducing body fat as well as improving blood parameters associated with MS.

Chir pine forests occurring at 750 amsl (Site 1) and 1400 amsl (Site 2) in Western Himalaya were studied for vegetation characteristics and under-canopy assemblages. The vegetation was sampled using quadrats. Total of 40 plant species belonging to 27 families were encountered in the sampling plots. Members of Asteraceae, Leguminosae and Rosaceae dominated the Chir pine under-canopy. At both the Sites, species to genera ratio was found to be one. Amongst the two Sites, the number of tree and shrub species was more at Site 1; while that of herbs was more at Site 2. Higher tree and shrub diversity was recorded at Site 1, 0.63 and 1.32 respectively, while Site 2 had higher (2.12) herb diversity. In general, both Sites had higher shrub and herb diversity compared to tree diversity. Chir pine forests at lower altitude (Site 1) were found to be more diverse than at higher altitude (Site 2). Above ground biomass of Chir pine at the study Sites ranged from 302 t/ha at Site 1 to 338 t/ha at Site 2. The density, diversity and biomass estimate from the present study area are comparable to other Chir pine forests in the Western Himalaya; however, regeneration potential of the present area was recorded to be comparatively poor.

EDUCOMP's Time-shared Operating System (ETOS) is an integrated package of hardware and software designed for maximum utility of a PDP8 computer. ETOS supports up to 16 users, with each user able to use the system as if he were operating on a stand-alone PDP8 with 64K bytes of memory.This paper will contrast the various modes of computer operation and illustrate how the combination of batch, real-time, and interactive usage results in the optimum fulfillment of the all-important criterion of price/performance.Emphasis is placed on the maintence of continuous system performance. This is especially important to the educational user. In many situations, if the machine must be shut down for one type of user, the educational user is the first one to be sacrificed. Computer assisted instruction, drills, simulations, and general student motivation are somehow viewed as less important than the use of the computer to collect taxes. ETOS is EDUCOMP's solution to this misguided allocation of resources.ETOS requires a 16K omnibus PDP8, clock, an RK8e controller with an RK05 drive, a backup peripheral for the RK05 drive, and a Time Share Control Module.