PREPARATION, CHARACTERIZATION AND EVALUATION OF FLOATING MICROPARTICLES OF CIPROFLOXACIN

Objective: The main purpose of this study is to prepare a floating micro articulated drug delivery system of ciprofloxacin by using non-aqueous solvent evaporation technique to increase the bioavailability and therapeutic effectiveness of the drug by prolonging its gastric residence time.Methods: Floating microparticles were prepared by using different low-density polymers such as ethyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose either alone or in combination with the aid of non-aqueous solvent evaporation technique. All the formulated microparticles were subjected to various evaluation parameters such as percentage yield, drug content, drug entrapment, rheological studies, floating characteristics and in vitro drug release studies.Results: Drug-excipient compatibility studies performed with the help of FTIR instrument indicated that there were no interactions. Results revealed that non-aqueous solvent evaporation technique is a suitable technique for the preparation of floating microspheres as most of the formulations were discrete and spherical in shape with a good yield of 65% to 85% and 15 to 22 h of floating duration with 90% of maximum percentage floating capacity shown by formulation FM9. Though, different drug-polymer ratios, as well as a combination of polymers, play a significant role in the variation of overall characteristics of formulations. Based on the data of various evaluation parameters such as particle size analysis, drug content, drug entrapment, rheological studies and in vitro drug release characteristics formulation FM9 was found to fulfil the criteria of ideal floating drug delivery system.Conclusion: Floating microparticles were successfully prepared, and from this study, it can be concluded that the developed floating microspheres of ciprofloxacin can be used for prolonged drug release in the stomach to improve the bioavailability and patient compliance

Socioeconomic inequality in life expectancy in India

Introduction Concern for health inequalities is an important driver of health policy in India; however, much of the empirical evidence regarding health inequalities in the country is piecemeal focusing only on specific diseases or on access to particular treatments. This study estimates inequalities in health across the whole life course for the entire Indian population. These estimates are used to calculate the socioeconomic disparities in life expectancy at birth in the population. Methods Population mortality data from the Indian Sample Registration System were combined with data on mortality rates by wealth quintile from the National Family Health Survey to calculate wealth quintile specific mortality rates. Results were calculated separately for males and females as well as for urban and rural populations. Life tables were constructed for each subpopulation and used to calculate distributions of life expectancy at birth by wealth quintile. Absolute gap and relative gap indices of inequality were used to quantify the health disparity in terms of life expectancy at birth between the richest and poorest fifths of households. results Life expectancy at birth was 65.1 years for the poorest fifth of households in India as compared with 72.7 years for the richest fifth of households. This constituted an absolute gap of 7.6 years and a relative gap of 11.7 %. Women had both higher life expectancy at birth and narrower wealth-related disparities in life expectancy than men. Life expectancy at birth was higher across the wealth distribution in urban households as compared with rural households with inequalities in life expectancy widest for men living in urban areas and narrowest for women living in urban areas. Conclusion As India progresses towards Universal Health Coverage, the baseline social distributions of health estimated in this study will allow policy makers to target and monitor the health equity impacts of health policies introduced

An Experimentally Validated Feasible Quantum Protocol for Identity-Based Signature with Application to Secure Email Communication

Digital signatures are one of the simplest cryptographic building blocks that provide appealing security characteristics such as authenticity, unforgeability, and undeniability. In 1984, Shamir developed the first Identity-based signature (IBS) to simplify public key infrastructure and circumvent the need for certificates. It makes the process uncomplicated by enabling users to verify digital signatures using only the identifiers of signers, such as email, phone number, etc. Nearly all existing IBS protocols rely on several theoretical assumption-based hard problems. Unfortunately, these hard problems are unsafe and pose a hazard in the quantum realm. Thus, designing IBS algorithms that can withstand quantum attacks and ensure long-term security is an important direction for future research. Quantum cryptography (QC) is one such approach. In this paper, we propose an IBS based on QC. Our scheme's security is based on the laws of quantum mechanics. It thereby achieves long-term security and provides resistance against quantum attacks. We verify the proposed design's correctness and feasibility by simulating it in a prototype quantum device and the IBM Qiskit quantum simulator. The implementation code in qiskit with Jupyternotebook is provided in the Annexure. Moreover, we discuss the application of our design in secure email communication

Modeling coupled thermal-hydrological-chemical processes in theunsaturated fractured rock of Yucca Mountain, Nevada: Heterogeneity andseepage

An understanding of processes affecting seepage intoemplacement tunnels is needed for correctly predicting the performance ofunderground radioactive waste repositories. It has been previouslyestimated that the capillary and vaporization barriers in the unsaturatedfractured rock of Yucca Mountain are enough to prevent seepage underpresent day infiltration conditions. It has also been thought that asubstantially elevated infiltration flux will be required to causeseepage after the thermal period is over. While coupledthermal-hydrological-chemical (THC) changes in Yucca Mountain host rockdue to repository heating has been previously investigated, those THCmodels did not incorporate elements of the seepage model. In this paper,we combine the THC processes in unsaturated fractured rock with theprocesses affecting seepage. We observe that the THC processes alter thehydrological properties of the fractured rock through mineralprecipitation and dissolution. We show that such alteration in thehydrological properties of the rock often leads to local flow channeling.We conclude that such local flow channeling may result in seepage undercertain conditions, even with nonelevated infiltrationfluxes

Determination of Transport Properties From Flowing Fluid Temperature LoggingIn Unsaturated Fractured Rocks: Theory And Semi-Analytical Solution

Flowing fluid temperature logging (FFTL) has been recently proposed as a method to locate flowing fractures. We argue that FFTL, backed up by data from high-precision distributed temperature sensors, can be a useful tool in locating flowing fractures and in estimating the transport properties of unsaturated fractured rocks. We have developed the theoretical background needed to analyze data from FFTL. In this paper, we present a simplified conceptualization of FFTL in unsaturated fractured rock, and develop a semianalytical solution for spatial and temporal variations of pressure and temperature inside a borehole in response to an applied perturbation (pumping of air from the borehole). We compare the semi-analytical solution with predictions from the TOUGH2 numerical simulator. Based on the semi-analytical solution, we propose a method to estimate the permeability of the fracture continuum surrounding the borehole. Using this proposed method, we estimated the effective fracture continuum permeability of the unsaturated rock hosting the Drift Scale Test (DST) at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Our estimate compares well with previous independent estimates for fracture permeability of the DST host rock. The conceptual model of FFTL presented in this paper is based on the assumptions of single-phase flow, convection-only heat transfer, and negligible change in system state of the rock formation. In a sequel paper [Mukhopadhyay et al., 2008], we extend the conceptual model to evaluate some of these assumptions. We also perform inverse modeling of FFTL data to estimate, in addition to permeability, other transport parameters (such as porosity and thermal conductivity) of unsaturated fractured rocks

Particle Production in Matrix Cosmology

We consider cosmological particle production in 1+1 dimensional string theory. The process is described most efficiently in terms of anomalies, but we also discuss the explicit mode expansions. In matrix cosmology the usual vacuum ambiguity of quantum fields in time-dependent backgrounds is resolved by the underlying matrix model. This leads to a finite energy density for the "in" state which cancels the effect of anomalous particle production.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure; v2: references added, minor change

"The fruits of independence": Satyajit Ray, Indian nationhood and the spectre of empire

Challenging the longstanding consensus that Satyajit Ray's work is largely free of ideological concerns and notable only for its humanistic richness, this article shows with reference to representations of British colonialism and Indian nationhood that Ray's films and stories are marked deeply and consistently by a distinctively Bengali variety of liberalism. Drawn from an ongoing biographical project, it commences with an overview of the nationalist milieu in which Ray grew up and emphasizes the preoccupation with colonialism and nationalism that marked his earliest unfilmed scripts. It then shows with case studies of Kanchanjangha (1962), Charulata (1964), First Class Kamra (First-Class Compartment, 1981), Pratidwandi (The Adversary, 1970), Shatranj ke Khilari (The Chess Players, 1977), Agantuk (The Stranger, 1991) and Robertsoner Ruby (Robertson's Ruby, 1992) how Ray's mature work continued to combine a strongly anti-colonial viewpoint with a shifting perspective on Indian nationhood and an unequivocal commitment to cultural cosmopolitanism. Analysing how Ray articulated his ideological positions through the quintessentially liberal device of complexly staged debates that were apparently free, but in fact closed by the scenarist/director on ideologically specific notes, this article concludes that Ray's reputation as an all-forgiving, ‘everybody-has-his-reasons’ humanist is based on simplistic or even tendentious readings of his work