Electrodeposition and hot corrosion of nickel-based cermet coatings

Imperial Users onl

In Vitro Evaluation of Certain 6-Hetero Aryl-5-Hexene-2,4-Diones and Their Metal Complexes for Cytotoxic Activity

A series of 6-Hetero aryl-5-hexene-2, 4-diones (1a-b) and their Cu (II) complexes (1c-d) of ML2 stoichiometry were synthesized by condensation of heterocyclic aldehydes with acetyl acetone through boric anhydride mediated mechanism. Boric anhydride act by blocking the medial methylene group of acetyl acetone and provides a new pathway other than facile Knoevenagel condensation. All the final structures were assigned on the basis of IR, 1H NMR and mass spectra analysis. The test compounds were studied for short term in vitro cytotoxicity using Dalton’s Lymphoma Ascites cell lines (DLA). The compound code 1c and 1d found to show significant cytotoxic action. &nbsp

A Note on Unintentional Adulterations in Ayurvedic Herbs

Medicinal plants constitute an effective source of traditional and modern medicine. Adulterations and substitutions are common in raw material trade of medicinal plants. In general, adulteration is considered as an intentional malpractice. However, in raw material trade unintentional adulteration also exists. This article explains some of the reasons for unintentional adulterations with examples and key characters to distinguish them

\u3cem\u3eRubia cordifolia\u3c/em\u3e Linn. (Manjistha) – Controversial Identity

In indigenous systems of medicine, Rubia cordifolia Linn. is the accepted source for Manjistha. A recent research found that market samples of R. cordifolia from south India were derived from R. tinctorium. However, R. tinctorium is not a south Indian plant. A plant, which is not found in south India, might not be a source of the adulterant. Polymorphism and geographical variations were reported in R. cordifolia. We concluded that the south Indian sources of R. cordifolia might be derived from a different subspecies or geographical type or plants with different polymorphism and never be from R. tinctorium

India's twelfth finance commission : a view from Kerala

The focus of the paper is to review the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the Twelfth Finance Commission with special reference to Kerala. It also critically examines the emphasis on fiscal deficit reduction without paying attention to its quality and finds that this has led to the Centre and the States resorting to a softer option of cutting productive capital and necessary maintenance and social sector expenditure. This is likely to have adverse consequences on equitable growth and to impede the process of relieving the economy of structural constraints on growth. There is an urgent need for analysing the quality of fiscal consolidation instead of focusing merely on quantity of reduction of deficits as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The study hence suggests incorporating the concept of Quality of Fiscal Discipline. It is found that there has been an enlargement of the scope of Finance Commissions [since the Eleventh Finance Commission (11th FC)] into mandates for recommending mechanisms for achieving macroeconomic balance, equitable growth, and suggestions for disinvestments and privatisation, while its role in the traditional area of grant devolution has been restricted to non-Plan grants only. In fact, the enlargement of the role in the traditional area of grant devolution would be more desirable. There is sufficient scope for augmenting resource mobilisation from direct and indirect taxes at the Central level. Emphasis is to be placed on integrating services and manufacturing into a single CENVAT (Central Value Added Tax) and on direct taxes reform. The second generation tax reform should concentrate on States’ tax administration and inter-State coordination prior to moving on to a State level VAT. There is need for a constitutional amendment to place service tataxation in the Concurrent List and enable States to tax more services. On the expenditure side, steep increases in items like wages and salaries and interest expenditure are unlikely in the near future. Hence maintenance and social sector expenditure should not be sacrificed. At the same time, efficiency in spending and cutting unproductive expenditure and leakages should be strictly monitored. A decentralised district level monitoring system for maintenance expenditure of capital assets is also suggested. The paper argues that bringing privatisation in the Terms of Reference of the Finance Commission seems avoidable. It is also felt that more effective time bound implementation of State Finance Commission Reports is needed. Along with devolution of funds, transfer of administrative functions is necessary for avoiding duplication of expenditure. As for Kerala-specific issues, it is found that achievements on the human development front are not rewarded. Certain changes in the existing criteria (of the Eleventh Finance Commission) are hence suggested. Kerala’s tax effort, though better than richer States like Punjab, is facing structural constraints. The fast expanding services sector is outside the tax net of the State. The tax-GDP ratio of Kerala showed a mild decline at 9.84 percent in the 1990s as compared to 10.29 percent in the 1980s despite a much higher growth rate of State Domestic Product, mainly because the State was not able to tax the dominant sector of the State Domestic Product, that is, the services sector. Key words : finance commission, fiscal deficit, revenue mobilisation, devolution JEL Classification : H77, H60, H2

Determination of metformin and triclosan in sewage sludge using Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are generally neither totally removed by sewage treatment nor completely destroyed in the environment. Metformin (MET) and triclosan (TRI) are two compounds in PPCPs that have the potential to be environmental pollutants. This research aimed to determine MET and TRI in sewage sludge using a liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer (LCMS-8040) and a sewage sludge extraction method. The Milli-Q water and sewage sludge were also tested at three different MET and TRI concentrations (0.01, 0.02, and 0.03 mg L-1). As a result, the corresponding recoveries of MET and TRI in both matrixes ranged from 85.93 to 116.10 per cent and 90.50 to 116.30 per cent (n = 7, RSD < 10%). Then, the limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) for MET and TRI were found to be 0.005 and 0.01 mg L-1. The amounts of MET and TRI in the sewage sludge samples from the Ukkadam sewage treatment plant (USTP), Coimbatore, ranged from BDL to 0.0587 mg L-1 and 0.0719 to 0.1851 mg L-1, respectively. Consequently, the amounts of MET and TRI in the sewage sludge samples from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University sewage treatment plant (TSTP), Coimbatore, ranged from BDL to 0.0227 mg L-1 and 0.0393 to 0.1296 mg L-1, respectively. This exclusive use of the highly sensitive LCMS-8040 consumes less time than other analytical methods for measuring the amount of MET and TRI in sewage sludge by overcoming the risk of chemical degradation

Absorbing phase transition in a conserved lattice gas with random neighbor particle hopping

A conserved lattice gas with random neighbor hopping of active particles is introduced which exhibits a continuous phase transition from an active state to an absorbing non-active state. Since the randomness of the particle hopping breaks long range spatial correlations our model mimics the mean-field scaling behavior of the recently introduced new universality class of absorbing phase transitions with a conserved field. The critical exponent of the order parameter is derived within a simple approximation. The results are compared with those of simulations and field theoretical approaches.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in J. Phys.