Sadhana

Distortion is a severe problem in weld products.It depends on various process parameters like plate thickness, current, voltage, type of weld joint and restraints put on. If distortion is not properly dealt during welding then the product may become useless from geometric accuracy point of view. In the present study, a 3-D coupled transient thermal analysis model with auxiliary side heating (parallel heating) is developed to control angular distortion. During analysis, parallel heating flames are placed at several locations from weld line in cross direction. A user defined subroutine is used to apply transient heat source and side heating flames. Element birth and death technique is used to simulate the filler material deposition. One side multipass 'V' butt weld configuration is used for this study. A series of observational tests are done with a special experimental fixture using Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMAW) to validate the proposed FEA model. It is found that the angular distortion has decreased from 2 mm to 0.4 mm with change in side heating distance from 50 to 90 mm from the weld line.

This study investigates the effects of printed circuit board (PCB) thickness on adjustable fountain and conventional wave soldering. The pin-through-hole (PTH) vertical fill is examined with three PCBs of different thicknesses (i.e., 1.6, 3.1, and 6.0 mm) soldered through adjustable fountain and conventional wave soldering at conveyor angles of 0 • and 6 •. The vertical fill of each PCB is the focus. The PTH solder profile is inspected with a non-destructive X-ray computed tomography scanning machine. The percentages of the PTH vertical fill of both soldering processes are also estimated and compared. The aspect ratio of the PCB is also investigated. Experimental results reveal that adjustable fountain wave soldering yields better vertical fill than conventional wave soldering. The vertical fill level of adjustable fountain wave soldering is 100%, 90%, and 50% for the 1.6, 3.1, and 6.0 mm PCB thickness, respectively. FLUENT simulation is conducted for the vertical fill of the solder profile. Simulation and experimental results show that the PTH solder profiles of the two soldering processes are almost identical. The effect of PCB thickness on PTH voiding is also discussed.

The present decade has witnessed a huge volume of research revolving around a number of Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques, especially for the fabrication of different metallic materials. However, fabrication of ceramics and cermets using AM-based techniques mainly suffers from two primary limitations which are: (i) low density and (ii) poor mechanical properties of the final components. Although there has been a considerable volume of work on AM based techniques for manufacturing ceramic and cermet parts with enhanced densities and improved mechanical properties, however, there is limited understanding on the correlation of microstructure of AM-based ceramic and cermet components with the mechanical properties. The present article is aimed to review some of the most commonly used AM techniques for the fabrication of ceramics and cermets. This has been followed by a brief discussion on the microstructural developments during different AM-based techniques. In addition, an overvie...

Addressing the Yogasūtra योगसूत्र, or 'the point of view' codified in the Patañjali system, is a difficult task. We are faced with an Opera written in a sacred language, to which we approach with due respect. The text is hermetic, as it is typical of the writings of every initiatory Tradition, where the 'transmission' takes place exclusively through the direct relationship ('mouth-ear') between Master and disciple. Like all the writings of Tradition, the language used is highly symbolic, therefore a vehicle of multiple meanings, the decoding of which is almost impossible if you do not have the opportunity to make them "living them from the inside". Taken alone, it remains a text whose understanding is not only inaccessible for a layman, but also substantially indecipherable for the specialists of the academic world themselves

Affrontare gli Yogasūtra योगसूत्र, ovvero ‘il punto di vista’ codificato nel sistema di Patañjali è impresa ardua. Siamo di fronte ad un’Opera scritta in una lingua Sacra, alla quale accostarsi con il dovuto rispetto. Il testo è ermetico, come peraltro è tipico degli scritti di ogni Tradizione iniziatica, dove la ‘trasmissione’ avviene esclusivamente mediante il rapporto diretto (‘bocca-orecchio’) tra Maestro e discepolo. Come tutti gli scritti della Tradizione, il linguaggio utilizzato è altamente simbolico, quindi veicolo di Significati multipli, la cui decodifica è pressoché impossibile se non si ha la possibilità di realizzarli ‘vivendoli dall’interno’. Preso da solo, resta un testo la cui comprensione è non solo inaccessibile per un profano, ma anche sostanzialmente indecifrabile per gli stessi specialisti del mondo accademico.

In hydraulic structures such as diversion or gravity dams constructed on a porous foundation, the difference in water levels between upstream and downstream results in water seepage through the porous soil under the dam. This seepage flow generates uplift pressure under the structure that may cause a crack on the concrete surface of the structure's floor. In this condition, the exit gradient may exceed the critical value and cause the piping phenomenon. In this study, the effect of the weep hole and cutoff wall on the uplift pressure and the hydraulic gradient under a diversion dam was investigated experimentally and numerically. For this purpose, four weep holes (diameter = 1 cm) were embedded along the longitudinal axis of the stilling basin. The weep holes were examined in single and combined modes. The experiments were conducted in three upstream water heads of 10, 15, and 20 cm. The results showed that in terms of seepage losses, hydraulic gradient, and uplift pressure, the binary combinations of weep holes are better than the other modes. Among the binary combinations, the combination of the two closest weep holes to the dam toe (weep holes 1 and 2) had the most proper performance. In the supplementary experiments, a cutoff wall in two depths (10 and 15 cm) was placed at the dam heel in addition to the best modes of weep holes combination. Overall, the simultaneous use of cutoff wall (especially 15 cm) and weep holes improved the hydraulic condition of seepage phenomenon under the dam.

This paper presents a system which estimates blood glucose level (BGL) by non-invasive method using Photoplethysmography (PPG). Previous studies have shown better estimation of blood glucose level using an optical sensor. An optical sensor based data acquisition system is built and the PPG signal of the subjects is recorded. The main contribution of this paper is exploring various features of a PPG signal using Single Pulse Analysis technique for effective estimation of BGL values. A PPG data of 611 individuals is recorded over duration of 3 minutes each. BGL value estimation is performed using two types of feature sets, (i) Time and frequency domain features and (ii) Single Pulse Analysis (SPA). Neural network is trained using above mentioned proposed feature sets and BGL value estimation is performed. First we validate our methodology using the same features used by Monte Moreno in his earlier work. The experimentation is performed on our own dataset. We obtained comparable results of BGL value estimation as compared with Monte Moreno, with maximum R 2 = 0.81. Further, BGL estimation using (i) Time and frequency domain features and (ii) Single Pulse Analysis (SPA) is performed and the resulting coefficient of determination (i.e., R 2 ) obtained for reference vs. prediction are 0.84 and 0.91, respectively. Clarke Error Grid analysis for BGL estimation is clinically accepted, so we performed similar analysis. Using Time and frequency domain feature set, the distributions of data samples is obtained as 80.6% in class A and 17.4% in class B. 1% samples in zone C and Zone D. For Single Pulse Analysis technique (SPA) the distribution of data samples are 83% in class A and 17% in class B. The proposed features in SPA have shown significant improvement in R 2 and Clarke Error grid analysis. SPA technique with the proposed feature set is a good choice for the implementation of system for measurement of non-invasive glucometer.

The real and imaginary parts (ε 1 and ε 2 ) of the complex dielectric constant (ε) of sand, silt and clay with varied moisture content have been determined experimentally under laboratory conditions at 9·967 GHz. using infinite sample method. The values of (ε 1 ) and (ε 2 ) first increase slowly with moisture content upto a certain transition point and then increase rapidly with moisture content. Vyas A D 1982 Complex permittivity of sand and sandy loam soils at microwave frequencies Indian J. Radio Space Phys. 11: 169-174 Wang J R, Schmugge T J 1980 An emprical model for complex dielectric permittivity of soils as a function of water content, IEEE Trans. Geosc. 288-295 Yadav J S, Gandhi J M 1992 Simple microwave technique for measuring the dielectric parameters of solids and their powders. Indian J. Pure Appl. Phys. 30: 427-431

The widely used conventional touch-based fingerprint identification system has drawbacks like the elastic deformation due to nonuniform pressure, fingerprints collection time and hygiene. To overcome these drawbacks, recently the touchless fingerprint technology is gaining popularity and various touchless fingerprint acquisition solutions have been proposed. Nowadays due to the wide use of the smartphone in various biometric applications, smartphone-based touchless fingerprint systems using an embedded camera have been proposed in the literature. These touchless fingerprint images are very different from conventional ink-based and live-scan fingerprints. Due to varying contrast, illumination and magnification, the existing touch-based fingerprint matchers do not perform well while extracting reliable minutiae features. A touchless fingerprint recognition system using a smartphone is proposed in this paper, which incorporates a novel monogenic-wavelet-based algorithm for enhancement of touchless fingerprints using phase congruency features. For the comparative performance analysis of our system, we created a new touchless fingerprint database using the developed android app and this is publicly made available along with its corresponding live-scan images for further research. The experimental results in both verification and identification mode on this database are obtained using three widely used touch-based fingerprint matchers. The results show a significant improvement in Rank-1 accuracy and equal error rate (EER) achieved using the proposed system and the results are comparable to that of the touch-based system.

This paper defines cooperation as the process of coordinating the objectives and activities of supply chain (SC) members. It also focuses on cooperation as a solution for hybrid coordination mechanism to form the basis for semiconductor industry supply chain management. In the complex and competitive environment of semiconductor industry supply chain, independent system members are facing the difficult task of providing/sharing incentives resulting from e-market activities in a fair and equitable manner. So, various other activities are necessary for the e-market to make revenue sharing operations more stable and reliable. In this context, the importance of coalition in enhancing the e-market capability, for revenue generation and sharing, is used to develop a possible mechanism for financial compensation to the supply chain members. Interpreting the supply chain as cooperation, the concepts of the Shapely value are used in this paper for analysing the revenue sharing problem. The motivation behind such a scheme is to align the supply chain members' cost structure with the bidding value during auction and bargaining for e-procurement. The appropriateness of the Shapely value is verified to ensure that a stable solution exists. The practical implication of this paper is how to make right decisions about revenue sharing. The principal contribution of this approach is for establishing a pooling coalition in order to provide a stable and cooperative solution.

A nonlinear optimization model is developed to transmute a unit hydrograph into a probability distribution function (PDF). The objective function is to minimize the sum of the square of the deviation between predicted and actual direct runoff hydrograph of a watershed. The predicted runoff hydrograph is estimated by using a PDF. In a unit hydrograph, the depth of rainfall excess must be unity and the ordinates must be positive. Incorporation of a PDF ensures that the depth of rainfall excess for the unit hydrograph is unity, and the ordinates are also positive. Unit hydrograph ordinates are in terms of intensity of rainfall excess on a discharge per unit catchment area basis, the unit area thus representing the unit rainfall excess. The proposed method does not have any constraint. The nonlinear optimization formulation is solved using binary-coded genetic algorithms. The number of variables to be estimated by optimization is the same as the number of probability distribution parameters; gamma and log-normal probability distributions are used. The existing nonlinear programming model for obtaining optimal unit hydrograph has also been solved using genetic algorithms, where the constrained nonlinear optimization problem is converted to an unconstrained problem using penalty parameter approach. The results obtained are compared with those obtained by the earlier LP model and are fairly similar.

Swami Paramarthananda discusses Sādhana Catuṣṭaya Saṃpatti (Fourfold Qualifications) , in many classess1. I have compiled this document based  on Swamiji’s teachings of these classes.  In the Karikas to Mandukya Upanishad, Gowdabadhachariyar advises us to give maximum effort to Sādhana Catuṣṭayaṃ.  This document describes  Sādhana Catuṣṭayaṃ and the ways to improve  Sādhana Catuṣṭayaṃ.

The objective of this paper is to design an autopilot system for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to control the speed and altitude using electronic throttle control system (ETCS) and elevator, respectively. A DC servo motor is used for designing of ETCS to control the throttle position for appropriate amount of air mass flow. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based controllers such as fuzzy logic PD, fuzzy logic PD + I, self-tuning fuzzy logic PID (STF-PID) controller and fuzzy logic-based sliding mode adaptive controller (FLSMAC) are designed for stable autopilot system and are compared with conventional PI controller. The target of throttle, speed and altitude controls are to achieve a wide range of air speed, improved energy efficiency and fuel economy with reduced pollutant emission. The energy efficiency using specific energy rate per velocity of UAV is also presented in this paper.

"Mārīcī in the Sādhanamālā"  Presentation handout
(This handout was partially revised after the conference presentation.)
I gave a presentation on Mārīcī in the Sādhanamālā.
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP19K12950(Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists) .

/ Date: Saturday, September 7, 2019
/ Place: Bukkyō University (Kyōto, JAPAN)
/ Abstract:  This presentation concerns Sādhanamālā (SM) No. 134, a meditation on the Mārīcī of three faces and eight arms (an image seen on extant art objects). The traits of the sādhana of SM No. 134 are elucidated via an understanding of its structural components.Belief in Mārīcī is said to have expanded during the era of Tantric (Esoteric) Buddhism, from the time of the Pāla Empire (8th–12th century CE) and thereafter. Among the Buddhist goddesses of the Pāla Empire, works depicting the Mārīcī are said to have been second in number only to those of the goddess Tārā, and Mārīcī worship was especially widespread in India. Sixteen types of Mārīcī sādhana are recorded in the SM, with Mārīcī displaying variously one face and two arms, three faces and eight arms, five faces and ten arms, six faces and twelve arms, or three faces and sixteen arms.In No. 134, in the preparatory stage for meditation, the concrete description of the figure of the goddess is characteristic.  The reason is not clear, but in No. 142, in the preparatory stage for meditation (similar to No. 134) is the phrase “depict images [paṭa], etc. of the figure of the holy mother [Mārīcī]” (paṭādigatamūrrtiṃ bhagavatīm avatārrya); therefore, it may be that the concrete figure of Mārīcī spoken of in the preparatory stage of No. 134 is suggesting not only a mediation, but also the creation of actual objects depicting the goddess. From the fact that numerous holy images of Mārīcī have been confirmed in India, we surmise that in addition to mediation, emphasis was also placed on the mechanism of gaining blessings by the pious act of creating actual art objects. (English translation by Editage, Cactus Communications.)

ABSTRAK Dua teknik baru telah digunakan untuk mengkaji pembentukan jalur mod mulur semasa mencanai intan (proses utama) ke atas germanium, silicon dan kaca untuk membantu proses sekunder penggilapan. Dalam teknik pertarna, permukaan aspherik telah dihasilkan atas Ge dan Si pada kelajuan konvensional (5000 pus per min). Dalam teknik kedua pula, pencanaian pada kelajuan tinggi (100,000 pus per min) ke atas permukaan rata kaca dan Si telah dilakukan. Ketepatan bentuk, kemasan permukaan dan jalur mod mulur dibincangkan dalam kertas keJja ini. Didapati bahawa roda intan ikatan resin menghasilkan jalur mod mulur lebih banyak berbanding roda intan ikatan logam tetapi sebaliknya roda yang terkemudian dapat menghasilkan ketepatan bentuk permukaan yang lebih baik. Permukaan' canaian berlutsinar diperoleh dengan lebih mudah atas Pyrex berbanding kaca BK7, dengan itu telah dapat menjimatkan masa penggilapan. Jalur mulur kelihatan dengan banyaknya atas germanium berbanding silikon. Kedua-dua teknik pencanaian baru ini telah dijalankan atas pusat pemesinan CNC.

Scour around bridge pier is the main reason for the failure of bridges. The local scour around the pier causes exposure of the foundation and may lead to undermining of the structure. Different types of protection measures such as the provision of raft, apron, sheet piles, etc. can be used as scour protection measures. One of the possible effective bridge scour protection measures is to provide a raft foundation with cutoff walls and provision of flexible stone aprons towards upstream (u/s) and downstream (d/s) sides of the pier. In this study, the effectiveness of various bridge pier scour protection measures using raft and aprons is investigated through hydraulic model studies in the laboratory. The results are compared for various cases, such as a simple pier, pier with raft and extended raft, pier resting on a raft with stone aprons at u/s and d/s of the raft and pier resting on an extended raft with stone aprons on u/s and d/s of it. The comparison of various cases showed that rigid raft with stone aprons on u/s and d/s and extended raft with apron are found to be more effective in reducing immediate scour beyond the rigid raft, thereby giving protection to the bridge piers.

The use of computational methods for three-dimensional flow design and analysis at the Boeing Company is presented. A range of computational "tools" consisting of "production" tools for everyday use by project engineers, "expert user" tools for special applications by computational researchers, and a new "emerging" tool which may see considerable use in the near future is described. These methods include full potential and Euler solvers, some coupled to three-dimensional boundary layer analysis methods, for transonic flow analysis about nacelle, wing/body, wing/body/strut/nacelle, and complete airplane configurations.

Negli ultimi anni abbiamo assistito ad una proliferazione di nuove edizioni degli Yogasūtra, spesso con traduzioni e commenti a cura di studiosi occidentali. Alcune pregevoli, altre meno. Abbiamo scelto di porre al centro dell’attenzione, come esempio positivo di serietà, rigore e correttezza, l’opera di Michel Angot .
Con questo breve intervento, destinato soprattutto ai lettori italiani, riportiamo uno stralcio in bozza tratta dal testo, in corso di redazione:
Dall’Uno della Tradizione ai Sistemi Aperti, Patañjali Yogasūtra. Il “punto di vista” dello Yoga Vol I -Yama e Niyama, delle astensioni e delle osservanze.

Software metrics should be used in order to improve the productivity and quality of software, because they provide critical information about reliability and maintainability of the system. In this paper, we propose a cognitive complexity metric for evaluating design of object-oriented (OO) code. The proposed metric is based on an important feature of the OO systems: Inheritance. It calculates the complexity at method level considering internal structure of methods, and also considers inheritance to calculate the complexity of class hierarchies. The proposed metric is validated both theoretically and empirically. For theoretical validation, principles of measurement theory are applied since the measurement theory has been proposed and extensively used in the literature as a means to evaluate the software engineering metrics. We applied our metric on a real project for empirical validation and compared it with Chidamber and Kemerer (CK) metrics suite. The theoretical, practical and empirical validations and the comparative study prove the robustness of the measure.

Chemical stability, mechanical behaviour and biocompatibility in body fluids and tissues are the basic requirements for successful application of implant materials in bone fractures and replacements. Corrosion is one of the major processes affecting the life and service of orthopaedic devices made of metals and alloys used as implants in the body. Among the metals and alloys known, stainless steels (SS), Co-Cr alloys and titanium and its alloys are the most widely used for the making of biodevices for extended life in human body. Incidences of failure of stainless steel implant devices reveal the occurrence of significant localised corroding viz., pitting and crevice corrosion. Titanium forms a stable TiO 2 film which can release titanium particles under wear into the body environment. To reduce corrosion and achieve better biocompatibility, bulk alloying of stainless steels with titanium and nitrogen, surface alloying by ion implantation of stainless steels and titanium and its alloys, and surface modification of stainless steel with bioceramic coatings are considered potential methods for improving the performance of orthopaedic devices. This review discusses these issues in depth and examines emerging directions.

This article examines the architecture of e-commerce as a set of layers, each supporting the one above it. The layers have clean interfaces, that is, they can be designed independently. We present an architecture with six layers. The lowest layer consists of a physical communication network such as local area network or public switched telephone networks. The next higher layer is the logical layer which describes the protocol used to interconnect communication systems to create internet, intranet and extranet. The services provided over the internet infrastructure, namely, e-mail, world wide web etc., are described in what is called network services layer. It is essential to ensure security of messages, documents etc., which are transmitted using network services. The messaging layer is thus concerned with encryption methods, both private and public key encryption and their applications. We call the layer above this the middleman service, which is concerned with valueadded services offered by intermediaries to enable payment for services received, certify digital signatures, safely transmit documents and provide information on behalf of companies. The topmost layer is the application layer which users see. The major applications are customer-to-business (C2B) e-commerce, business-tobusiness (B2B) e-commerce, customer-to-consumer (C2C) e-commerce etc. We briefly explain these modes.

Recent developments in carbon and alloy steels outlined in this paper include those pertaining to low-carbon mild steels, high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steels, dual-phase steels, low-carbon bainitic steels, ultrahigh strength steels and ferritic stainless steels. The factors that improve the cold-forming characteristics of low carbon sheets and strips are outlined. The physical metallurgy principles governing the ferrite grain refinement in HSLA steels are discussed, pointing out how it can be achieved by the controlled rolling process. The importance of sulphide shape control in imparting the necessary through-thickness ductility in HSLA steels is discussed and the various methods available for inclusion shape control are outlined. Improved forrnability coupled with adequate strength characterizes the dualphase steels. Among the ultrahigh strength steels, two recent developments, viz. TRIP steels and maraging steels are outlined. It is pointed out how the improved formability of ferritic stainless steels is making them compete with the more expensive austenitie stainless steels. The scope for future developments in these steels is discussed at the end.

Le Edizioni Porpora hanno messo a disposizione questo lavoro di Sri Svami KRISHNANANDA.
Il testo completo è liberamente scaricabile dal sito indicato in intestazione.
Buona lettura ed un ringraziamento alle Edizioni Porpora, che continuamente rendono disponibili gratuitamente questi testi sapienziali, dando concreta dimostrazione che la Tradizione non può essere oggetto di mercimonio.
Il loro prezioso contributo è la dimostrazione che è possibile lavorare per il piacere di 'donare', senza attesa del risultato dell'azione.
Coloro che sono interessati al tema della Via iniziatica dello Yoga, secondo la Tradizione, possono consultare anche il contributo al link:
https://www.academia.edu/34906731/%C5%9Ar%C4%AB_Sv%C4%81m%C4%AB_K%E1%B9%9B%E1%B9%A3n%C4%81nanda_e_il_Sistema_dello_Yoga_Yama_e_Niyama_le_basi_fondanti

The Tantras selected here give few clues about geographical locations. Of the six short passages, the third alone mentions a place called the “Garlanded” (Mālinī) Mountain and a ravine or cave named Kokila, which may refer to sites in the far northeast of India, in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, such as the ruined temple site called Malini- than in the Siang Hills. This area borders Tibet, Myanmar, and Bhutan and is home to numerous tribal communities speaking dozens of languages and hundreds of dialects. Its green forests and high mountains host some of the most biodiverse wilderness in India, with over 750 species of birds and hundreds of mammals, including snow leopards, red pandas, and gibbon apes.

These six short passages translated from the Sanskrit depart from the narrative format and instead present Tantric-guided visualizations and hymns of praise to the so-called goddess of desire, Kāmeśvarī. They are all about vivid description, characteristics of the practitioner, and praise for the goddess’s power. The first two pieces are from the Nityākaula, a previously untranslated Tantra predating the eleventh century and the sole surviving representative of the Nityā cult, as described in the essay. This important early Tantra has barely reached the present, for it survives in a single damaged palm-leaf manuscript from Nepal. The frequent ellipses (. . .) in the first passage flag places where the text is damaged and unreadable. The passage from the Ciñciṇīmatasārasamuccaya serves as a midpoint that elaborates on the nature and power of Kāmeśvarī. The latter three passages are from the Vāmakeśvarīmata, a Tantra of slightly later origin that expands the goddess’s retinue and links her to the famous diagram of nine interlocking triangles, called the Śrīcakra. The passages are thus arranged sequentially to illustrate the historical flow of religious influence from the Nityā cult to that of Tripurasundarī, who is still actively worshiped today in the popular Śrīvidyā tradition.

Assessing the capacity of existing building as per the present codes of practice is an important task in performance-based evaluation. In order to enhance the performance of existing buildings to the present level of ductile design prescribed by present codes and find the retrofit or design a rehabilitation system, there is an urgent need to assess accurately the actual lateral load resistance and the potential failure modes. In this paper, a typical 6-storey reinforced concrete (RC) building frame is designed for four design cases as per the provisions in three revisions of IS: 1893 and IS: 456 and it is analysed using user-defined (UD) nonlinear hinge properties or default-hinge (DF) properties, given in SAP 2000 based on the FEMA-356 and ATC-40 guidelines. An analytical procedure is developed to evaluate the yield, plastic and ultimate rotation capacities of RC elements of the framed buildings and these details are used to define user-defined inelastic effect of hinge for columns as P-M-M and for beams as M3 curves. A simplified three parameter model is used to find the stress-strain curves of RC elements beyond the post yield region of confined concrete. Building performance of structural components in terms of target building performance levels are studied with the nonlinear static analysis. The possible differences in the results of pushover analysis due to default-and user-defined nonlinear component properties at different performance levels of the building are studied.

The Paninian* framework proposes karakas as semanticosyntactic relations that play a crucial role in mediating between surface form and meaning. The framework accounts for theta-role assignment, active passive, and control in a uniform manner. It has been successfully used in building an extremely fast prototype machine-translation system between two Indian languages. The constraint parser and the generator are designed with information theoretic considerations. Paninian framework is particularly suited to free word order languages. As most human languages are relatively word-order free, the Paninian framework should be explored as a serious contender for sucll languages. Based on the Paninian theory, the concept of language accessor or anusaraka has emerged, which has the potential to overcome the language barrier in India.

The soft switching converters evolved through the resonant load, resonant switch, resonant transition and active clamp converters to eliminate switching losses in power converters. This paper briefly presents the operating principle of the new family of soft transition converters; the methodology of design of these converters is presented through an example. In the proposed family of converters, the switching transitions of both the main switch and auxiliary switch are lossless. When these converters are analysed in terms of the pole current and throw voltage, the defining equations of all converters belonging to this family become identical. Such a description allows one to define simple circuit oriented model for these converters. These circuit models help in evaluating the steady state and dynamic model of these converters. The standard dynamic performance functions of the converters are readily obtainable from this model. This paper presents these dynamic models and verifies the same through measurements on a prototype converter.

"Quello che esiste è Uno senza un secondo. Uno ed Uno soltanto, e non duale è quella grande Realtà, eternamente esistente, sempre presente, infinita. Non c’è nessun secondo, c’è Uno ed Uno soltanto. Qualsiasi cosa esiste è in quell’Uno senza un secondo.
            Il termine Maya, quindi, è soltanto un termine per descrivere uno straordinario inesplicabile stato di quell’Essere Universale che essendo l’Uno e non duale è presente ovunque, tuttavia non è né riconosciuto, né compreso. Questo stato di imperfetta coscienza è designato come Maya. E’ niente altro che un insidioso qualcosa che emana dallo stesso Brahman. E’ la Sua stessa effulgenza che apparentemente nasconde quella radiante e splendente Realtà."

This article aims to propose a novel seismic strengthening technique for non-seismically detailed beam-column joints of existing reinforced concrete buildings, typical of the pre-1975 construction practice in Turkey. The technique is based on mounting pre-fabricated SIFCON composite corner and plate blocks on joints with anchorage rods. For the experimental part three 2/3 scale exterior beam-column joint specimens were tested under quasi-static cyclic loading. One of them was a control specimen with non-seismic details, and the remaining two with the same design properties were strengthened with composite blocks with different thickness and anchorage details. Results showed that the control specimen showed brittle shear failure at low drift levels, whereas in the strengthened specimens, plastic hinge formation moved away from column face allowing specimens to fail in flexure. The proposed technique greatly improved lateral strength, stiffness, energy dissipation, and ductility.

The circulating fluidized bed reactor has unique qualities which differentiate it from other gas-solid contactors and make it promising for a wide range of reaction~,. A 0-15 m x 0.15 m x 7.3 m tall circulating bed reactor with solids returned via an L-val" e has been established at the University of British Columbia for combustion of a wide range of solid and heavy liquid fuels. The reactor is heavily instrumented to allow reaction characteristics to be related to reactor hydrodynamics and transfer processes. Novel features are incorporated to permit measurement of solids circulation rates and in the configuration of secondary gas entry ports. Preliminary heat transfer data, temperature profiles and pressure profile~ are reported for operation at high temperatures.

In questa ricerca delle fonti del Sacro mantra non poteva mancare un richiamo al testo originale del Taimni, interamente dedicato alla Gāyatrī. Siamo di fronte ad un insegnamento di particolare rilevanza, sviluppato in modo organico e completo. Sintetizzare quella che possiamo definire una pietra miliare per la conoscenza della Sāvitrī – Gāyatrī è oggettivamente impossibile. Nel limitarci a proporre alcune citazioni particolarmente pregnanti, confidiamo che il sincero ricercatore che sta percorrendo la sādhana (il sentiero che conduce alla realizzazione del Sé, all‟Illuminazione), possa trovarvi lo stimolo ad affrontare lo studio del testo nella sua integrità. Dell‟Opera, è altresì disponibile, finalmente, l‟edizione italiana (I. K. Taimni, Gāyatrī. The daily religious practice of the Hindus, Vasanta press, Adyar, Madras, 1978;  I. K. Taimni, Gāyatrī, La madre dei Veda, Mediterranee, Roma, 2017)

Mediating the Power of Buddhas offers a fascinating analysis of the seventh-century ritual manual, the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa. This medieval text is intended to reveal the path into a ritual universe where the power of a buddha abides.

Author Glenn Wallis traces the strategies of the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa to enable its committed reader to perfect the promised ritual, uncovering what conditions must be met for ritual practice to succeed and what personal characteristics practitioners must possess in order to realize the ritual intentions of the Buddhist community. The manual itself was written at a key point in Buddhist history, one when Hindu forms of practice were still imitated and on the cusp of the shift from Mahayana to Vajrayana (or Tantric) Buddhism.

In addition, the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa presents a rich compendium of Buddhist life in an earlier era, containing information on a variety of its readers' concerns: astrology, astronomy, medicine and healing, ritual practice, iconography, devotion, and meditation.

Among Western scholars and researchers, the opinion that between the thought of Patañjali (Yogasūtra) and that of Śaṅkarācārya (Advaita-Vedānta) there is an irreparable rift. Not believing the formulations to be completely convincing in this regard, we hope that the subject can benefit from further studies conducted with an approach respectful of hermeneutical methods and the specificity of thought contained in the texts, not a limited cultural horizon, much less reducible to it.
In these brief notes we will focus exclusively on the requirements that the two authors identify as pre-requisite conditions for accessing Traditional Wisdom.
Ideas and proposals for reflection, analysis, research, in an attempt to go beyond the narrow horizon of duality and closed systems.

Anteprima dal testo in corso di redazione:
Pātañjala Yogasūtrāṇi, Yama e Niyama, i Doveri (astensioni e osservanze), Il ‘punto di vista’ Yoga Vol II, terza edizione ampliata e rivista. A cura di Fabio Milioni
Il testo  (IV-XII d.C.) è attribuito a Yājñavalkya, celeberrimo grande Saggio dell’induismo, presumibilmente vissuto nell’VIII° sec. a.C., cui sono altresì attribuiti altri scritti sapienziali tra i quali ricordiamo il Śukla Yajurveda, शुक्लयजुर्वेद. la Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad e la Yājñavalkya Smṛti. Siamo di fronte ad un personaggio mitico, citato anche nella Mahābhārata e nei Purāṇa. E’ un testo sapienziale che narra l’insegnamento tradizionale impartito dal Sapiente Yājñavalkya ad una delle sue due mogli, Gārgī.

Preview from the text being edited:
Pātañjala Yogasūtrāṇi, Yama and Niyama, the Duties (abstentions and observances), The 'point of view' Yoga Vol II, third expanded and revised edition. Edited by Fabio Milioni
The text (IV-XII AD) is attributed to Yājñavalkya, the famous great Sage of Hinduism, presumably lived in the 8th century. a.C., to which other sapiential writings are also attributed among which we remember the Śukla Yajurveda, शुक्लयजुर्वेद. the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad and the Yājñavalkya Smṛti. We are facing a mythical character, also mentioned in the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇa. It is a sapiential text that tells the traditional teaching given by the Wise Man Yājñavalkya to one of his two wives, Gārgī.

Advanced constitutive models implemented in the finite element system ATENA serve as rational tools to explain the behaviour of connection between steel and concrete. Three nonlinear material models available in ATENA are described: crack band model based on fracture energy, fracture-plastic model with non-associated plasticity and microplane material model. Nonlinear simulation using these advanced constitutive models can be efficiently used to support and extend experimental investigations and to predict behaviour of structures and structural details.

This presentation concerns Sādhanamālā (SM) No. 134, a meditation on the Mārīcī of three faces and eight arms (an image seen on extant art objects). The traits of the sādhana of SM No. 134 are elucidated via an understanding of its structural components.
Among the Buddhist goddesses of the Pāla Empire (8th–12th century CE), works depicting the Mārīcī are said to have been second in number only to those of the goddess Tārā, and Mārīcī worship was especially widespread in India. Sixteen types of Mārīcī sādhana are recorded in the SM, with Mārīcī displaying variously one face and two arms, three faces and eight arms, five faces and ten arms, six faces and twelve arms, or three faces and sixteen arms.
In No. 134, in the preparatory stage for meditation, the concrete description of the figure of the goddess is characteristic.  The reason is not clear, but in No. 142, in the preparatory stage for meditation (similar to No. 134) is the phrase “depict images [paṭa], etc. of the figure of the holy mother [Mārīcī]” (paṭādigatamūrrtiṃ bhagavatīm avatārrya); therefore, it may be that the concrete figure of Mārīcī spoken of in the preparatory stage of No. 134 is suggesting not only a mediation, but also the creation of actual objects depicting the goddess. From the fact that numerous holy images of Mārīcī have been confirmed in India, we surmise that in addition to mediation, emphasis was also placed on the mechanism of gaining blessings by the pious act of creating actual art objects.

are Low Voltage distribution networks comprising various distributed generators (DG), storage devices and controllable loads that can operate either interconnected or isolated from the main distribution grid as a controlled entity. Energy storage system (ESS) is a vital part of an MG. In this paper, a methodology is proposed for the optimal allocation and economic analysis of ESS in MGs on the basis of net present value (NPV). As the optimal operation of an MG strongly depends on the arrangement and allocation of its ESS, economic operation strategies and optimal allocation methods of the ESS devices are required for the MG. Self-adaptive Bee Swarm Optimization (SBSO) algorithm is applied to optimize the operation strategies and capacities of ESS in MGs in order to find maximal NPV, the generation schedule of ESS and distributed generation sources. This paper is to suggest, among those available ESS, the optimal sizes and types of them and their optimal arrangement, such that the total NPV achieved during the system operational lifetime period is maximized. After introducing the methodology, a case study is presented for illustration.

The evolution of experimental biomechanics and crash injury research is summarized briefly to show that they both play a major role in mitigating traffic deaths and injuries. Historically, the subject has been based largely in western countries and thus focused on vehicle occupants, whereas some 80% of traffic casualties in the world are outside the vehicle as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. The subject is close to the regulatory process which controls vehicle design and is thus heavily influenced by government and industry, yet it is now in an expanding period because of new techniques to replicate the human frame's response to impact forces. New knowledge is likely to emerge from addressing population variations and combining real world accident investigations with experimental biomechanics. The application of impact biomechanics to the vulnerable road users is of particular importance.

An integrated understanding of heat transfer during solidification, friction/lubrication at solid-liquid interface, high temperature properties of the solidifying shell etc. is necessary to control the continuous casting process. The present paper elaborates upon the knowledge developed in the areas of initial shell formation, mode of mould oscillation, and lubrication mechanism. The effect of these issues on the caster productivity and the quality of the product has been discussed. The influence of steel chemistry on solidification dynamics, particularly with respect to mode of solidification and its consequence on strength and ductility of the solidifying shell, has been dealt with in detail. The application of these basic principles for casting of stainless steel slabs and processing to obtain good quality products have been covered.

Typically, supply chain members are dependent on each other to manage various resources and information. The conflicting objectives and lack of coordination between supply chain members may often cause uncertainties in supply and demand. The basic elements of coordination theory like interdependency, coherency and mutuality may help in effective flow of information and material between the dependent supply chain members. Supply chain contract can be an effective coordination mechanism to motivate all the members to be a part of the entire supply chain. There are different types of supply chain contracts such as buy back and quantity flexibility contracts. Supply chain performance may be substantially improved by properly designing the contracts to share risks and rewards. The objective of this paper is to explore the applicability of coordination elements through an analytical model in three-level (Manufacturer-distributor-retailer) serial supply chains using contracts. The model evaluates the impact of supply chain contracts on various performance measures. The impact of some contract may be on some specific performance measure only, which helps managers to choose the type of contract if there is an objective of improving certain performance measure before hand. In three-level supply chains, the contracts are designed at two distinct interfaces: Manufacturer-distributor and distributor-retailer. The model demonstrates the complexity in evaluating the decision variables of three level supply chains. The proposed model is a novel approach to apply coordination theory at various levels of supply chain. The model also presents how the coordination elements are related to each other in various coordination cases.