Development of topical gel containing aceclofenac-crospovidone solid dispersion by “Quality by Design (QbD)” approach

This article describes the development, optimization, and evaluation of Carbopol 940 topical gel containing aceclofenac-crospovidone (1:4) solid dispersion using “Quality by Design (QbD)” approach based on 2³ factorial design. The effect of crospovidone, tri-ethanolamine, and ethyl alcohol amount on the drug permeation profile of the topical gel containing aceclofenac-crospovidone solid dispersion was optimized by 2³ factorial design. The optimized gel showed improved permeation profile with cumulative drug permeation of 26.262 ± 2.157%, and permeation flux of 0.059 ± 0.011 μg/cm²/h. These gels were characterized by pH, viscosity, gel strength and FTIR study. The in vivo anti-inflammatory activity of the optimized gel was evaluated in rats using carrageenan-induced rat-paw oedema model and found excellent anti-inflammatory comparable with a marketed gel without producing any skin irritation.     

Analyzing the Structure and Evolution of Massive Telecom Graphs

With the ever-growing competition in telecommunications markets, operators have to increasingly rely on business intelligence to offer the right incentives to their customers. Existing approaches for telecom business intelligence have almost solely focused on the individual behavior of customers. In this paper, we use the call detail records of a mobile operator to construct call graphs, that is, graphs induced by people calling each other. We determine the structural properties of these graphs and also introduce the Treasure-Hunt model to describe the shape of mobile call graphs. Moreover, we determine how the structure of these call graphs evolve over time. Finally, since short messaging service (SMS) is becoming a preferred mode of communication among many sections of the society, we study the properties of the SMS graph. Our analysis indicates several interesting similarities and differences between the SMS graph and the corresponding call graph. We believe that our analysis techniques can allow telecom operators to better understand the social behavior of their customers and potentially provide major insights for designing effective incentives.     

Using VRML-based visualisations to facilitate information retrieval in the world wide web

With the explosive growth of information in the WWW, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the user to find information of interest. Visualisations may be helpful in assisting the users in their information retrieval task. Effective visualisation of the structure of a WWW site is extremely useful for browsing through the site. Visualisation can also be used to augment a WWW search engine when too many or too few results are retrieved. In this paper, we discuss several visualisations we have developed to facilitate information retrieval on the WWW. With VRML becoming the standard for graphics on the Web and efficient VRML browsers becoming available, VRML was used for developing these visualisations. Unique visualisations like focus + context views of WWW nodes and semantic visualisation are presented and examples are given on scenarios where the visualisations are useful.     

Hydroxy Sulfonated Fatty Acid Esters as Surface Active Agents VI: Ester and Amide Derivative Surfactants

Maleic acid derivatives of hydroxy sulfonated fatty acid esters were prepared by heating the lauric acid salt of 1-chloro-2-hydroxypropane-3-sulfonic acid (NaCHPS) with maleic anhydride under reflux. The surfactants thus obtained exhibited superior foaming and wettability to initial detergents that were prepared from lauric acid. Amide derivatives of lauric surfactants were prepared by reacting sodium salt of lauric acid amide with NaCHPS under reflux, in the presence of cello-solve and xylene. In acidic medium these amide derivatives possess better foaming properties and wettability than the initial detergents.     

Purification and characterization of fatty acid-binding protein from human placenta

Purification of a cytosolic fatty acid-binding protein (FABP) from developing human placenta has been achieved, and its role in modulating the inhibition of human placental glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) by palmitoyl-CoA (PAL-CoA) has been studied. FABP was resolved into three peaks, viz. DE-I, DE-II and DE-III, by DEAE cellulose chromatography. DE-I was almost lipid-free. Presence of endogenous fatty acids in DE-II and DE-III was detected by thin layer chromatography (TLC). Fatty acids were the only detectable lipid component in these fractions. Gas liquid chromatography (GLC) analysis revealed that DE-II binds long chain saturated and unsaturated fatty acids nonspecifically, whereas DE-III is mainly an arachidonic acid carrier. Each of these fractions, viz. DE-I, DE-II and DE-III, has a molecular weight of 14,200 Daltons. Ouchterlony double immunodiffusion studies have confirmed the immunochemical identity of these three fractions of placental FABP. Separation in ion exchanger may be due to their different isoelectric points and varied types of binding affinities. Human placental G6PD was inhibited 50% by 0.03 mM PAL-CoA. The DE-II fraction of FABP enhanced the activity of G6PD in the absence of added PAL-CoA and protected against PAL-CoA inhibition of the enzyme. Such a modulating effect of FABP in this inhibition is attributable to binding of long chain acyl-CoA rather than to a direct effect of FABP on the enzyme itself.     

Plasticizing effect of acetylated castor oil on castor oil-based,moisture-cured polyurethane film

Moisture-cured polyurethane films have been prepared by reaction between toluene diisocyanate and castor oil or derivatives such as castor oil diethanol amide, castor oil monoglyceride, ethylene glycol monoricinoleate, and propylene glycol monoricinoleate. Effect of acetylated castor oil as an internal plasticizer on the resulting urethane films has been studied. Catalytic effect of 3-5% triethanol amine on curing of plasticized films has been noted. Plasticized polyurethane films show good tensile strength (105-550 kg/cm²) and elongation (15-215%) properties, having high melting point (210-272 C) and good resistance to solvents and chemicals.     

AMORE: A World Wide Web image retrieval engine

Search engines are useful because they allow the user to find information of interest from the World Wide Web. However, most of the popular search engines today are textual; they do not allow the user to find images from the Web. This paper describes AMORE, a Web search engine that allows the user to retrieve images from the Web by specifying relevant keywords or a similar image. Text and image search can also be combined. Moreover, we have developed a Query Result Visualization Environment that allows the organization of the results if many images are retrieved. In this paper we present AMORE's user interface and explain the technique for retrieving images visually similar to a user specified image. The method of automatically assigning relevant keywords to the images is then explained. Finally, the architecture of the system as well as some interesting observations of our experiences with AMORE are discussed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.