Thin Section Petrography of Neolithic Pottery from Northeast India

Twenty nine potsherds from nine Neolithic sites of Northeast India have been analysed using thin section petrography. The primary objectives of this article are to determine their provenance, to investigate the production techniques of Neolithic pottery and to understand the technical skills of the ancient potters of the studied region. Based on their mineralogical content and the composition of the matrices, the pottery samples have been classified into eleven fabric groups. The analysis of the fabrics showed dissimilarities in the processing and production of ceramics which were otherwise very similar at first sight. The dissimilarities provided indications of the clay sources and the occurrence of natural and artificial temper/inclusions, e.g., organic or inorganic substances used by the Neolithic potters of Northeast India during manufacturing processes. In all fabric groups, we found ironbearing materials which show that the ancient potters used local clay to make pottery because the soil in this region contains a high amount of ferruginous substances. The results also confirmed that the analysed pottery was probably fired below 800 °C under an oxidizing atmosphere and also revealed the use of non-plastic inclusions, such as sand, quartz and organic materials during pottery production

Natural porphyrins and synthetic analogues as photoredox catalysts in visible light catalysed 3D printing

The idea of this work is to utilise natural and synthetic porphyrins as photoredox catalysts in visible light 3D printing. Chapter 1 provides a background of the use of light in organic synthesis, polymerisation and 3D printing. Chapter 2 assessed the ability of both zinc tetraphenylporphyrin and tetraphenylporphyrin to photo catalyse the polymerisation of methyl acrylate in blue and red light, as well as the 3D print of a TEGDMA / UDMA solution in blue light. Chapter 3 studied the effect of functionalising tetraphenylporphyrin with electron and donating groups and assessing the effect on photocatalytic ability in visible light 3D printing. Chapter 4 looked at increasing the conjugation of the porphyrin core by utilising the heck reaction and studying the effect on absorption properties and photocatalyctivity for the polymerisation of methyl acrylate. Chapter 5 analyses the use of chlorophyll a and pheophytin a from spinach and chlorella sources as a photocatalyst in the polymerisation of MA and 3D printing of a TEGDMA / UDMA solution. Also, the photocatalytic ability of crude extracts of chlorella and spinach was studied for the same purpose. Chapter 6 is a summary of the work completed in this thesis. Chapter 7 is the experimental procedures undertaken for this thesis. Chapter 8 is a list of references used

Generalized Electromagnetic fields in Chiral Medium

The time dependent Dirac-Maxwell's Equations in presence of electric and magnetic sources are written in chiral media and the solutions for the classical problem are obtained in unique simple and consistent manner. The quaternion reformulation of generalized electromagnetic fields in chiral media has also been developed in compact, simple and consistent manner

Quaternion Analysis for Generalized Electromagnetic Fields of Dyons in Isotropic Medium

Quaternion analysis of time dependent Maxwell's equations in presence of electric and magnetic charges has been developed and the solutions for the classical problem of moving charges (electric and magnetic) are obtained in unique, simple and consistent manner

Weedy diversity of subsistence agriculture and their traditional uses in cold arid region of India

In Ladakh, a cold arid region, subsistence agriculture has been in practice and is associated with livestock rearing in very small-scale stone-built terrace farming. Due to poor resources, public distribution systems, import/mutual exchange of plant materials and higher labour cost, high-altitude default organic farming has become a complex activity where weeds have become a recurrent problem. Moreover, they have become an integral part of fodder resources under small-scale stone-built terraced farming in barren ecosystems for enriching straw with supplementary weedy stuff. As a result, cropped areas suffer severe weed pressure as it requires 4-5 weedings under high-altitude solar radiation. An intensive survey revealed that the majority of weeds constituted of Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Poaceae and Fabaceae families, and they varied attitudinally. In this region, weeds are the major associated plant species, limiting the performance of crops in terms of seed quality and yields significantly. Hence, weed menace is overlooked in crops that impact the invasive weedy species to move upward to high altitudes under climate change. Conversely, people across this region have identified many of the weedy species for their day-to-day consumption as green leafy vegetables and for medicinal uses under the harsh climate of the cold arid region. This article describes the weedy species identified in crops and their utilization under low-land holding subsistence agriculture

INVESTIGATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF FORMULATION PARAMETERS FOR SELFNANOEMULSIFYING DELIVERY SYSTEM OF TWO LIPOPHILIC AND GASTROINTESTINAL LABILE DRUGS USING BOX-BEHNKEN DESIGN

Objective: Present research work aims toward codelivery of two hydrophobic drugs, curcumin (CRM) and duloxetine hydrochloride (DXH) through self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS).Methods: Initially, binary mixture in the ratio of 1:1 was prepared and then loaded into SNEDDS. Box-Behnken design (BBD) was adopted to develop SNEDDS. As per the optimal design, 13 SNEDDS prototypes were prepared. Castor oil, tween-80 and Transcutol P® were used as oil, surfactant, and cosurfactant, respectively. To 1 mL of SNEDDS, 30 mg each of CRM and DXH was loaded (CRM-DXH- SNEDDS).Results: The design revealed that for mean droplet size, polydispersity index (PDI), as well as percentage drug loading, all the three factors, i.e. ratio of oil (a), surfactant (b), and cosurfactant (c) were found to give significant effect. Factor B showed the most significant effect on mean droplet size (y1). In case of PDI (y2), factors B and C exerted maximum influence, whereas, Factor A has shown non-significant effect. For percentage drug loading of drugs (y3 and y4), all the three factors were found to have the most significant effect. The optimized batch of CRM-DXH- SNEDDS having composition castor oil, tween-80, and Transcutol P® in the ratio: 2.17:5.22:2.61, revealed that the mean drug loading (%) of CRM and DXH in an optimized batch of SNEDDS was found to be 87.22±1.87 and 92.32±0.19%, respectively. The mean droplet size, PDI, and zeta potential of formed SNEDDS were observed as 113.14±1.14 nm, 0.20±0.026, and −13.2 mV, respectively.Conclusion: BBD provided optimal formula composition for SNEDDS for obtaining desirable drug loading, emulsion droplet size, and zeta potential

INFLUENCE OF FORMULATION PARAMETERS ON DISSOLUTION RATE ENHANCEMENT OF ACYCLOVIR USING LIQUISOLID FORMULATION

Objective: The objective of this research work is to explore the use of liquisolid technique in enhancement of acyclovir dissolution rate. This current study was planned to assess the impact of different formulation variables, such as non-volatile liquid type and concentrations of acyclovir on its dissolution rates profile. Method: Acyclovir liquisolid tablets were prepared with Tween 60 (liquid vehicle), Microcrystalline cellulose PH 102 (acted as a carrier to turn liquid medication into free-flowing powder) and Syloid XDP (coating material). In vitro, drug dissolution rate of liquisolid formulations of acyclovir was performed and compared with pure acyclovir drug using USP dissolution apparatus (Type II) for 60 min at a paddle speed of 50 rpm and filled with 900 mL of distilled water. Results: The dissolution study showed that 94.1% of the drug was released in 60 min of ratio 10 while only 66% of the pure drug acyclovir was released in 60 min. Hence, present work concluded that the acyclovir dissolution rate profile has been improved with the formation of liquisolid formulations. Conclusion: From the present study, it may be ratified that the drug dissolution rate of acyclovir has been improved with the utilization of liquisolid formulations approach.Â