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Kirchner was the first in 1950 to think of thin layers. But it was Egon Stahl in 1958 who was responsible for bringing out standard equipment and related procedures to popularize thin layer chromatography (TLC). TLC is a modified form of column chromatography. Hence it is also called open column chromatography. The adsorbent is spread over a supporting material (glass or plastic sheets) to form a thin layer of adsorbent. As a binder, plaster of Paris or gypsum is added to the adsorbent material like silica gel (hence silica gel TLC). The adsorbent is spread over the plate as a thin layer of 0.25 or 0.5 mm. The adsorbent to water ratio is 1:2. It is initially allowed to air dry, followed by drying in an oven at 110oC for 1-2hr or overnight (activation of TLC plates) after which the plate is ready for thin layer chromatography.

Highlights • Banana leather can be enriched with microencapsulated ? – 3 fatty acid for value addition. • Blanching can destroy more than 80% of vitamin C content. • Henderson and Pabis model can better predict the drying kinetics of banana leather. Introduction The ever increasing demand for functional foods having numerous health benefits has been an active research ground for the food scientists around the globe. Till date, many food products have been formulated to deliver functionalities by value addition with bioactive compounds (Carvalho Barros et al., 2020). These products have been extensively studied and proved to be beneficial, especially for elder age group against various metabolic syndrome and health complications. Functional foods are edible products fortified with compounds having additional health and safety benefits such as vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds (Granato et al., 2020). One such example of a nutritionally dense food product with the potential of fortification to meet certain health benefits is fruit leather.

One prime fact in research is not to take the matter for granted and do not believe in status quo. This is most critical mindset for creating something new. Even change may be made in existing circumstances with minimum requirements. Here, I may cite my experience while starting research in 1976 for my doctorate program on immunity against schistosomiasis. The experimental model was albino mouse where schistosomes, by their nature, develop into blood vascular system of the host hence require a special technique called “Perfusion technique” for retrieval of mature and immature schistosomes. This ‘perfusion technique’ requires use of a “Peristaltic pump” and was followed in some western countries (2). However, No body in India followed this perfusion technique hence recovered schistosomes from mouse or from any other host species by teasing the blood vessels or/and cutting and soaking liver,spleen, kidney, lung pieces in normal saline.

The method described here gives an approximate thioglucoside and isothiocyanates contents in rapeseed meal.

Reagents and Apparatus
    1.    Barium chloride (5% solution)
    2.    Volumetric flask, 600 ml
    3.    Steam bath

Method

To 10 g meal (defatted by soxhlet extraction) add 250 ml distilled water, hydrolyse at 54ºC for one hour and then boil for two hours, keeping volume constant. Filter, retaining filtrate and wash residue three times with 50 ml hot water. Add washings to initial filtrate and make up volume to 600 ml. Precipitate barium sulphate by heating and adding excess barium chloride solution. Leave on a steam bath for a few hours and then filter. Ash in muffle furnace and then weigh precipitate.

1. Introduction

This information is collected and complied by the authors from various websites for the motivation of readers particularly women. In no way it is exclusive and we do not claim accuracy of facts described here. Mere purpose is to disclose the fact that miracles do not happen but they are conditioned to manifest when determinations are reinforced by confidence. Live not to spend the time but to use it to spread your manifestations the world over.

Boundaries

The cavity of thorax (thoracic cavity) is formed like a truncated cone which is compressed laterally in its cranial part and some what wider in its caudal part. The dorsal wall or roof of the thorax is formed by the thoracic vertebrae and the ligaments and muscles connected with them. The lateral walls are formed by the ribs and intercostal muscles and other muscles supporting the walls internally and externally. The floor or the ventral wall is formed by the sternum and costal cartilages along with the ligaments and muscles attached to them. The caudal wall or the base of the thorax is formed by the diaphragm. It slopes craniad and ventrad. It is bound dorsally by the last thoracic vertebra, ventrally by xiphoid cartilage and laterally by the last pair of ribs and the costal arch formed by the union of costal cartilages of asternal ribs. The apex of the cone is narrow, nearly oval or triangular in form and it is directed cranially. The cavity of the apex is bound dorsally by the first thoracic vertebra, laterally by the first pair of ribs and ventrally by the first sternebra along with manubrium sterni. The apex is fully occupied by the longus colli muscle, oesophagus, trachea, vessels, nerves and lymph nodes. The width of the thorax is greatest at the level of ninth ribs. The wall of the thorax is internally lined by the serous membrane which is a part of the pleura.

• The thorax is the organ of locomotion due to articulation of wings and legs and is connected with the by neck or cervix.

• Thoracic segments are made up of three sclerites namely, dorsal body plate tergum or nota, ventral body plate sternum and lateral plate pleuron.

• Second and middle tagma which is three segmented, namely prothorax, mesothorax and metathorax. Meso and metathorax which bear wings are called as Pterothorax.

• In the apterygote insects the three thoracic segments are similar in size and structure. In the pterygote insects the thorax is highly modified.

• The prothorax is quite large and is somewhat independent of the other segments. The large shield that covers the dorsal and lateral sides of the prothorax is the pronotum.

• The pronotum is the dorsal sclerite of the prothorax, which can be highly modified in various orders such as the Hemiptera, Blattaria, and Coleoptera. E.g undivided and Saddle shaped in grass hopper, Shield like in cockroach.

• Cockroaches have pronotums that extend forward over the head.

• Scarab beetles and other beetles may also have unusual pronotums.

• Treehoppers have some of the most bizarre pronotums of all insects.

Thoracic Vertebrae

Ox: Thoracic vertebrae characterized by well developed neural spines, short bodies with capitular facets and transverse processes with tubercular facets for articulation with the ribs (Fig.4.1).

ABSTRACT

The deeply rooted coastal grass Spinifex littoreus (Burm.f.) Merr. is a potent soil binder having capability to form a strong and stable dunes. However detailed features of this species has not been thoroughly studied till date. In this communication, salient morphological features along with different crucial micro-morphological peculiarities have been discussed. The comparative analysis of gradual degradation of population of Spinifex littoreus and native dune vegetation of the coastal belt in East Medinipur of West Bengal and adjacent Balasore district of Odisha are provided, along with different biodiversity indices. Plants were characterized as stout, dioecious, stoloniferous grass upto 90 cm tall, with rigid and sharp spiny leaves. Spikelets in racemes subtended by large bract-like spatheoles which are fascicled into large capitate spiny structures 30-37 cm in diameter. S. littoreus is fairly common along sandy shores and dunes. Plants are useful as a sand binder in unstable coastal dunes ecosystem.

A large number of genetic resources, species, and ecosystems are under severe threat. Many species have gone extinct and many more are being pushed towards extinction. Most of the ecosystems have also gone into what we can call functional extinction. The major factors becoming threats to biodiversity are anthropogenic. Human activities, in essence, are not benevolent for biodiversity to flourish in natural systems. Burgeoning human populations are the root cause of biodiversity destruction. Changing human lifestyles fed by a materialistic economy are further acting as catalysts for the ever-increasing human populations to destroy biodiversity evolved over millions of years amid terrestrial conditions favorable for the origin and prevalence of an astonishing variety of life forms on Earth.

There is hardly any threat to biodiversity due to natural factors except those inherent in the designs of natural evolution. A species at a certain point of time in its evolutionary history is destined to vanish, but the void in nature created due to this loss is filled by the evolution of new life forms. Not only the void is filled, the nature gradually goes on enriching itself 

Introduction

India’s textile sector is one of the oldest industries in the Indian economy, dating back several centuries. The industry is highly varied, with hand-spun and hand woven textiles sectors at one end of the spectrum and the capital-intensive sophisticated mill sector at the other. The fundamental strength of the textile industry in India is its strong production base of a wide range of fiber/yarns, from natural fibers like cotton, jute, silk, and wool, to synthetic/man-made fibers like polyester, viscose, nylon, and acrylic.

Ultrasonography has an importance place in human practice and veterinary f ield especially in canine practice. Since many years two dimensional ultrasound has been used for scanning purposes both in human and animal practice. But the scenario has changed in human practice with development of three dimensional technology and later four dimensional ultrasonography has developed which shows movements of the objects being scanned especially in the case of fetuses. Nowadays it has been common to use these advanced technology in the human practices. Yet these technologies are in the childhood stage in the veterinary field. High cost of 3D/4D ultrasound equipment, operational difficulties in non sedated animals & lack of specific knowledge about the operation of volume scanning hinder the use of this technology in the veterinary field. Better understanding of the different application of these technologies can be made to use in research areas for the better understanding of the abnormalities, post therapeutics as well in the diagnosis of the diseases

Principle of Three Dimensional and Four Dimensional Ultrasonography

Sound waves of frequency higher than human audible frequency usually ranges from 2-13 MHz are used in ultrasonography. Depending upon on depth of tissue from the scanning surfaces frequency is selected. Three dimensional ultrasonography gives three dimensional images of the volume being scanned .it works on the same principle of 2D ultrasonography but ultrasonographic beams are sent different angles to get three dimensional image of object being scanned. Volume information is obtained either directly using 2D array probe or by reconstructing three dimensional volume from a series of continuous or non- continuous 2D images by using software (Fenster and Downey, 2000). An advancement of 3D technology is 4D ultrasound. Four dimensional ultrasound adds the fourth dimension as time and gives a dynamic real-time 3Dultrasonography of the concerned organ with a continuous volume image acquisitioned rendering process. (Khurana and Dahiya, 2004).

1.    I deem it a singular honour to deliver Dr. Sen Memorial Lecture. Dr. Sen, who was both an administrator and a visionary, was instrumental for:

Removal of seeds from dry fruits is known as threshing while that of wet fruits is known as extraction. Threshing involves beating or rubbing the plant material to detach the seed from its pod or fruit. The detached seed is then winnowed to remove chaff, straw and other light material from the seed.

Threshing / extraction methods

1. Mechanical threshing

• Various types of threshing machines with adjustable cylinder speeds are available for extraction of vegetable seeds.
• Care must be taken to avoid damage to the seed during mechanical threshing, by properly adjusting the speed of the beaters, the width of the gap between the beaters and the concave, the airflow and the sieve sizes.

22.1. What?

Threshing is the process of separating grains from the straw or pod by impact, friction or both. Threshing should be done at an appropriate time after harvest. Delayed threshing causes rapid deterioration of the grains, especially during field drying or when the crop is stacked in the field. Improper threshing leads to wastage of grains and reduces the quantity of final marketable produce. After threshing, the produce has to be winnowed to remove lighter materials such as unfilled grains, chaff, weed seeds and straw using a blower, air fan or wind. Winnowing improves the ability of the grain to be safely stored, milling output and quality.

22.2. Methods employed

Traditionally, threshing is done by beating the harvested crop on a threshing floor directly or with a stick. Another traditional method of threshing is to make a bull walk in circles on the grain on a hard surface. In some areas, the harvested panicle with grain is spread on the surface of a country road so that the grain may be threshed by the wheels of passing vehicles. In these methods winnowing is separately performed. However, with the development of technology, now it is mostly done by machine referred to as threshers, shellers and stripper. Some of these threshers have inbuilt facility for threshing. Thus, threshing and winnowing are completed in a single process.

9.1. Origin and distribution

• Originated in Southern Mediterranean.

• Distributed in India, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Spain, USA

9.2. Economic importance

• Commonly called as common thyme or garden thyme.

• The active principle alkaloid is thymol.

• Constituents - triterpinoid saponins, flavones, ursolic acid (1.5% in tops), coffeic acid, tannins and resins.

• Oil of thyme - colourless, yellow or red liquid with a characteristic pleasant odour, and a pungent taste.

English name : Thyme
Botanical name : Thymus vulgaris L.
Family : Lamiaceae
Chromosome number : 2n = 30
Centre of origin : Mediterranean region
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris Linn.), also known as ‘Common Thyme’ or ‘Garden Thyme’, belongs to the Lamiaceae family and has been a vital herb spice for centuries. The name “thyme” originates from the Greek word meaning “to fumigate” or “thumus,” which symbolizes courage. The herb contains various nutrients, including moisture (7.1%), protein (6.8%), fat (4.6%), crude fibre (24.3%), carbohydrates (44.0%), mineral matter (13.2%), calcium (2.1%), phosphorus (0.20%), iron (0.14%), sodium (0.08%), potassium (0.9%), vitamin A (175 IU), vitamin B1 (51 mg), vitamin B2 (0.4 mg), vitamin C (12.0 mg), niacin (4.9 mg), and a calorific value of 340 calories. Upon distillation, thyme yields Red Thyme oil. Additionally, the herb contains triterpinoid saponins, flavones, ursolic acid (1.5% in tops), caffeic acid, bitter compounds, tannins, and resins. Other wild thyme species, such as T. serpyllum L., T. zygus L. (white thyme), and T. satureioides Coss and Bal, also produce volatile oils. The major compounds in T. zygus and T. serpyllum include thymol, linalool, and linalyl acetate, while T. satureioides contains thymol, borneol, and a-terpineol.

Thyme is one of the best known European culinary herbs. The dried leaves and flowering to ps of Thymus vulgaris Linn. are called Thyme and those of Thymus serpyllum wild Thyme, which is found in the Western temperate Himalayas, from Kashmir to Kumaon hills, India, at an altitude of 1,525 meter above mean sea level. Thyme is grown in Europe, Austria and North Asia. It is now cultivated in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and other parts of Europe and, also, in England, North Africa, Canada and the USA. It is a common garden plant which survives for many years under good culture. The dried leaves are curled, are of brownish-green color, usually no longer than 6-7 mm and 2-3mm broad and marketed in whole or in ground form. The flavor is aromatic, warm and pungent. Wild Thyme is a low, hardy perennial, undershrub, 20-40cm high, successfully introduced into the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, in Southern India, or at higher elevations. It is used both for seasoning and for its volatile oil, ranging from 1.08-2.0% (average 1.0%), and in India, its cultivation on a commercial scale can be tried in the western temperate Himalaya from Kashmir to Kumaon hills between 1500 and 4000 meters above mean sea level. The plant can be grown for ornamental edging along the paths in gardens, and is also suitable for rockeries. Leaves are oblong-lanceolate, 10 mm x 3 mm, with orange-brown glandular dots; flowers are coriaceous, small, lavender, purplish to almost white in color, attractive to honeybees, in pubescent verticillaters (Plants that have their flowers intermixed with small leaves growing in a kind of whirl are called verticillate plants); nutlets are brown in color.

ABSTRACT

Biodiversity is a major resource for drug development. Since ancient times mankind has exploited nature for all kind of useful products and enjoyed the colors, flavors and fragrances of flowers and leaves etc. The current global resurgence in the use of plant based drugs offers an ideal opportunity for the country to emerge as a major player in the herbal products market. Herbal medicines are chemically diverse and may contain thousands of bioactive compounds, which can be of immense value to the pharmaceutical industries. Since ages, herbal medicine has been a major part of traditional knowledge play an important role for identification of biological resources worthy of commercial exploitation. Origanum vulgare L. is a wild plant of Labiatae family grows widely in Ladakh region (11500 to 13000 ft). The local people of this region use this plant for various ailment and culinary purposes due to the potential of active ingredients. The present objective of this study is to isolate the thymol content, a major ingredient of O. vulgare and quantifying the same. The volatile oils were extracted through hydro-distillation and active compound was analyzed by Gas Chromatography (GC-17A Shimadzu). Our results demonstrate that the thymol content of O. vulgare from this region is 80.28% as compared to plants grown at other low altitude regions. It is well known that plants under stress respond with biosynthesis of phytochemicals to enable them to adapt to the harsh environmental conditions. Ladakh being unique in many aspects due to its geo-climatic conditions like high elevation, extreme cold, dry weather and low humidity. Plants surviving in Ladakh therefore have unique chemical composition as compared to those grown elsewhere.