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Item Open Access Dwijokobirajer Mohabharot : Udyogporbo, Dronoporbo, Godaporbo দ্বিজ কবিরাজের মহাভারত উদ্যোগপর্ব, দ্রোণপর্ব, গদাপর্ব(University of North Bengal, 1984) Mandal মণ্ডল, Hitangshu Kumar হিতাংশু কুমার; Bhattacharya ভট্টাচার্য, Tapdhir তপোধীরItem Open Access A study of the legal framework for accountability of individuals for crimer against humanity and the role of the international law enforcement agencies.(University of North Bengal, 2014) Ghosh, Satarupa; Chakraborty, GangotriThe principle that individuals are and can be held criminally accountable for violations of the laws of war dates back to many years. However, it was only after World War II and the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, set up to judge those German and Japanese military leaders accused of serious crimes during the war, that the idea of individual criminal responsibility for serious breaches of international law gained ground. In this thesis an attempt has made to trace the evolution of individual’s responsibility for crime against humanity, the present legal framework in national and international level and the role of various law enforcement agencies to deal with the problem. Evolution of the Problem: History is witness to the fact that wherever an individual or groups of individuals have become powerful, they have flagrantly tortured the weak and the defenseless. Even where power is legitimated and turned into a legally valid authority, abuse of power and torture of the weak and the defenseless has continued. In this back drop considerable legal mechanism has developed for the exercise of such raw power. An international crime has been broadly defined as “an act universally recognized as criminal, that is, an act that is considered a grave matter of international concern and for some valid reason cannot be left within the exclusive jurisdiction of the state that would have control over it under ordinary circumstances”. Crimes against humanity now are established as jus cogens norms and are implicitly recognized as such in the preamble of the Hague Convention, which served to codify the customary law of armed conflict. Unfortunately, despite several attempts for fixing liability to the individuals who have committed crime against humanity and subjecting them to trials like Nuremberg trials and Tokyo trials the legal framework for fixing liability to individuals guilty of the act of committing crime against humanity to this day remains obscure and vague and ad hoc mechanisms are used to settle such cases. In the face of recent developments in countries like Libya, Egypt, Iraq the lack of legal framework to deal with such matters has become a cause for international concern. The main thrust of this work is to study the existing legal framework for determination of individual’s accountability for the crime against humanity and to propose changes into the existing framework. Hypothesis There is insufficient legal framework for the control and regulation and for fixing liability on the individual for committing crime against humanity and the present mechanism works through international ad hoc tribunals internationalized or mixed tribunals, the International Criminal Court as well as national courts, military tribunals and ordinary courts which allows any state to try alleged perpetrators, even in the absence of any link between the accused and the state exercising jurisdiction which leads to miscarriage of justice on one hand and multiple trials on the same cause of action on the other hand. Research Questions 1. What is the genesis for global movement for accountability? 2. What are the shortcomings of the present legal framework for accountability of international crime? 3. What is the role of the International Law Enforcement Agencies to provide proper justice to the victims? 4. What are the shortcomings of the institutional mechanisms to prevent the growth and spread of the international crime? 5. What is the concept of global movement towards accountability and what is the scope of its growth? Methodology Having selected the above topic for this research, the work will perforce be based on theoretical doctrinal research. The methodology followed is traditional non-empirical research. Chapter Summary Chapter I: “ACCOUNTIBILITY OF INDIVIDUALS FOR CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY: THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK”. The jurisprudential rooting of the present research work is discussed under this chapter. This chapter also explains the concepts used in this research and international legal theories. Chapter-II: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF THE CONCERN FOR CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY AND FIXING OF ACCOUNTABILITY: This chapter discuss about the preliminary concepts of international crimes, such as aggression, genocide, war Crimes and crime against humanity and the historical evolution of crime against humanity, this is also an attempt to establish individual criminal liability for the crime against. Chapter-III: CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY BY INDIVIDUALS: PRE 1945 SPECTRUM: This chapter deals with the scenario of crime against humanity by individuals before 1945. Chapter-IV: CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY BY INDIVIDUALS: A POST 1945 SPECTRUM: This chapter describes the scenario of the framework of the trials of individuals for crime against humanity after World War II (1939-1945). Chapter V: “A ROADMAP OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES FOR DEALING WITH INDIVIDUALS ACCUSED OF CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY”. In this chapter the matter of discussion is about various international law enforcement agencies like International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice, Ad Hoc Tribunals and Hybrid Tribunals. Chapter-VI: “A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE INTERNATIONAL AND INDIAN LEGAL FRAMEWORK RELATING TO CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY BY INDIVIDUALS”. This chapter mainly deals with the Indian legal framework and also the various Indian incidents regarding the crime against humanity in comparison with international framework for accountability of individuals for crime against humanity. Chapter-VII: “A STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL PRINCIPLES REGARDING LIABILITY OF INDIVIDUALS FOR CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY IN SELECTED NATIONAL JURISDICTIONS”. The subject matter of this chapter is about the various national laws to combat crime against humanity and the implementation of those laws by the nation states. Chapter-VIII: “INDIVIDUAL LEADER’S LIABLE FOR CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY: A COLLAGE”. In this chapter I have discussed about various specific instances of individual leader’s liability. It is a narrative chapter. Chapter IX: SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUDING REMARKS: In conclusion it can be summed up that the hypothesis that legal framework for the control and regulation and for fixing liability on the individual for committing crime against humanity is insufficient, has been proved and in this regard certain suggestion has been put in the thesis.Item Open Access Domestic financial market integration : a study on inter-linkage amongst Indian money, capital and foreign exchange market(University of North Bengal, 2022) Dey, Debashree; Ray, Hirak; Dhar, Samirendra NathThere is endless debate on globalization, free economy and integration of markets. Followers of McKinnon (1973) and Shaw(1973) forcefully argue and advocate that ‘ this is the only game in the town ‘(Obstfeld 1994, Mohan 2005,Trichet 2005, Lane et al., 2006). Again, scholars like Agenor (2001), warns the world about the evils of financial integration. Despite the debate on boons and evils of integration, now almost all economies are following the ‘free regime' and obviously India cannot live in isolation and started to pursue the ‘free economic policies' from 1991 and attempts to reap the benefits of globalization. The central Bank of India, accordingly, sets the objectives of reform of the financial sector. Reddy (1999, 2005), former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, argued and prescribed that more and more policy reforms are necessary to converge the domestic markets. Integration of domestic markets not only help to reap the benefits of liberalisation across the domestic and international financial sectors but also help to increase the efficiency, integrity and competitiveness of all the sectors —be it real or financial and the outcome of which ultimately be translated to the overall development of the economy. The issue of domestic integration has escaped adequate attention of the scholars. Majority of the studies investigated the stock, foreign exchange and money market as secondary or auxiliary issue and a few have investigated the domestic financial markets as the only or primary issue. Studies in the context of India are rare. The use of low frequency data, variety of methodologies, incomplete searching, absence of report on the presence of the variables in the co-integration space, etc, and the fractured findings suggest that there is the scope for further research to unveil the intricate relationship amongst the Indian money, foreign exchange and stock market. The primary objective of this study is to investigate whether Indian domestic financial markets are integrated and would remain integrated in future or not. In pursuing the objectives and considering a time period from 1st January, 2008 to 31st December, 2018, the daily data of the stock, foreign exchange and money market are collected and used in this study. This study transformed all the select time series process under the scrutiny by taking natural logarithm and estimated the entire tests with log-level data. The stationarity tests suggest that all the variables representing the markets are significantly integrated to order one. With the I(1) time series process we assessed the relationship of the markets based on the methodology suggested by Johansen, (1991,95) and Johansen, and Juselius, ( 1990). Results of the test significantly suggest the presence of one co-integrating relation and the deterministic term as, there is ‘a linear trend at level, and intercept with no trend’ which is very common and expected in the studies in finance and economics. Results of the test show the presence of significant long-term stable relationship amongst the markets and all the markets are found to be significantly present in the core of the co - integration space. There is no serial or autocorrelation at and up to the optimum lag order and also found stability of the system. The coefficients of error correction terms are statistically significant and according to the absolute figures, the speed of adjustment of the money market is relatively higher followed by stock and foreign exchange market. Levels of co-integrating relation of the Indian domestic financial markets found in this study do not disappoint the policy planners as it is marked by ups and downs around the critical levels of 95 percent. All these findings suggest strong longterm stable link between the markets. Results of the Granger causality tests point to bi-directional causality in between the stock and foreign exchange and unidirectional from foreign exchange market to call money market. The pair wise Granger causality run in both direction between the markets. In other words, the past values of all the markets grossly influence the future values of all the markets. The findings of the forecast error variance decomposition analysis indicate that the foreign exchange market followed by stock market will remain flexible over the future period of 50 days and steps are needed to make the money market more vibrant and flexible. The results of the impulse response analysis show that the markets transmit shock to other markets and responses to the shocks nearing to zero at or up to 50th day of our study indicating all the markets under study would remain integrated, at least, to the future horizon of the study. The results derived and observations made by the study should be accepted with caution due to the inevitable bias and technical limitations of statistical and econometric tools used. In this study, the modified information criteria in the selection of the optimum lag order are not used, the cases of fractional integration, if any, also not considered when testing the order of integration of the time series process. There is enough scope to use alternative tools and techniques to improve the outcome of these types of studies and the matter is left to scholars to study in future. In investigation, linear co-integrating relationship is assumed. Theoretically, the relation among the markets may well take the nonlinear form. This possibility is not investigated by this study. One of the primary objectives of this study is to investigate whether there is any co-integration among the domestic markets or not, but to investigate the probable reasons for co-integration or no integration is beyond the purview of this study, hence, it is left for future studies. In this analysis ‘narrow base' but highly traded segment of the Bombay Stock Exchange that is S & P BSE SENSEX 30 is used. Future studies considering broad base index is welcome. Real rates in place of nominal rates, basket of currencies or more currencies in place of single currency rates, forward rate instead of spot, Yield on Treasury bills in place of call rates can be used to study the relationship in future.Item Open Access Surface enhanced raman spectroscopic study of some functional molecules adsorbed on noble metal nano particles(University of North Bengal, 2019) Hossain, Washim; Haldar, Sripada; Sarkar, Uttam Kr.The objective of the present thesis is focused on the Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopic (SERS) study of different arylazo imidazole (AAI) molecules adsorbed on colloidal silver nanoparticles (SNPs). The AAIs have two N heteroatoms and a pendant azo group and show significant chemical interaction (chemisorption) with Ag nano particles through exchange of electronic charge. These five membered N-heterocycles are poor π-acceptors and hence good π-donors. Thus there is a possibility of charge transfer between the AAIs and the Ag-particles which has been probed by SERS. The significant modification of the physical and chemical properties of the complexes due to presence of different substituents in the heterocyclic ring and side arm to azo functions has also been investigated by a comparative SERS study. The present work gives information for better understanding of the mechanism involved in SERS and finds the possibility of some AAIs of being used as organic semiconducting material. The thesis consists of nine chapters and an outline of each of them is given below: In Chapter 1, the mechanisms involved in Raman scattering as well as in the enormous enhancement of Raman signal of the molecules adsorbed on suitable metal surfaces due to SERS effect are discussed. At the beginning the classical and quantum theories of Raman effect are presented. In the following sections, advantages and limitations of normal Raman spectroscopy are illustrated. Although Raman signals can be used as a fingerprint for a given structure of molecule as different structures exhibit characteristic Raman spectra, normal Raman signals are very weak. That SERS effect enhancing the Raman signal by a factor of 1010 to 1011 overcomes the weak scattering cross-section of normal Raman spectroscopy is discussed in the subsequent sections of this chapter in different sub-sections: Discovery of SERS, Key features of SERS, SERS substrates, Mechanisms involved in SERS and Application of SERS. Chapter 2 gives a brief description of the materials and methods of study along with the experimental details. The instrumentation for the related experiments is also discussed in a nutshell. This chapter consists of sections presenting an overview of the functional properties of the arylazo heterocyclic molecules, preparation of colloidal SNPs and recording of UV−Vis spectra, Raman spectra and Transmission Electron Micrograph (TEM). The computational details for the simulation of Raman and SER spectra for comparison with experimental results are presented in the concluding section. In Chapter 3, the Raman spectra and SERS of 1H-2(phenylazo) imidazole (PaiH) adsorbed on SNPs are presented. A trans-to-cis isomerization of PaiH is suggested by the appearance of the cis-signature peak at 570 cm-1 for a monomolecular layer coverage at a concentration of 5×10-6 M. This hypothesis is further substantiated by the shifting of the π−π* band from 358 nm, in methanol solution to 370 nm, in silver sol along with the appearance of the n−π* band, in silver sol at the optimum concentration, as observed by UV-vis spectroscopy. The excellent agreement of the SER spectra obtained experimentally with that simulated by DFT calculations indicates that electronically, biologically as well as optically important PaiH molecule undergoes chemical interaction with SNPs possibly through the imidazole nitrogen atom. A gradual trans-to-cis dark isomerisation of PaiH is suggested with lowering of concentration: the trans-isomers being the majority and hence predominant at higher concentrations whereas almost all the molecules are present as cis-isomer at monomolecular layer coverage. Chapter 4 presents a pH dependent SERS study of 1H-2(phenylazo) imidazole (PaiH) adsorbed on SNPs. A combination of different conformations of PaiH is evident where majority of the molecules prefer a particular conformation at a given pH. It is revealed that most of the PaiH molecules are in cis-form in the concentration range from 10-6M–10-5 M at pH = 7. In alkaline pH, majority of the molecules undergoes azo to hydrozone conformation whereas at acidic pH the azo-Ns participate in the electronic interaction with silver. Significant reduction of HOMO–LUMO gap indicates the possibility of PaiH of being used as an organic semiconductor In Chapter 5, Raman and SER spectra of 1-H-2 (tolylazo) imidazole (TaiH) are reported. It is observed that monomolecular layer of TaiH is formed on SNPs at a concentration of 4.93×10−6 M in Ag-sol which is less than the concentration required for monomolecular layer coverage of PaiH which is indicative of the effect of the substituent methyl group on the electronic interaction with the metal nanoparticles. Plasmon induced trans-to-cis dark isomerization of TaiH molecules is evidenced by the appearance of signature cis-peaks in SERS and the UV-Vis absorption spectra. Fragmentation of SNPs with significant reduction in the particle size is revealed by the interaction of TaiH. Large SERS enhancement is observed by these uncoupled plasmons. DFT calculations based on single Ag-atom model are in excellent agreement with experimental observations. Chapter 6 highlights the significant changes observed in the SER spectra of 1-H-2(parachloro phenylazo) imidazole (pClPai-H) molecule with respect to those of PaiH molecules. Monomolecular layer of pClPaiH is formed on SNPs at a concentration of 10-5 M. A moderate dark trans-to-cis isomerization of pClPai-H molecule is indicative with lowering of concentration. The influence of the presence of the chlorine atom at the para position of the phenyl ring is discussed. The pClPaiH molecule undergoes chemical interaction with SNPs possibly through azo N atoms. In Chapter 7, Raman spectra and SERS of two larger arylazo imidazole compounds 1-(CH2)17CH3-2(phenylazo) imidazole (Pai-C18) and 1-(CH2)17CH3-2(tolylazo) imidazole (Tai-C18) adsorbed on SNPs are reported. The Pai-C18 molecules which are known to demonstrate some liquid crystal properties show monomolecular layer coverage at a concentration of 10-7 M in Ag-sols, whereas, the first layer coverage of Tai-C18 is observed at a higher concentration of 10-6 M in Ag-sols. Higher concentration for monomolecular layer formation indicates smaller effective coverage of the metal surface by Tai-C18 molecules as compared with Pai-C18 molecules. Chapter 8 illustrates a comparative study of SERS on different arylazo imidazole molecules. The substituents on the imidazole ring as well as on the phenyl ring are observed to change the electron density in the rings significantly. Consequently, the extent of adsorption of the molecules on the metal surface is modified by the presence of these substituent groups. SERS of 1-methyl-2-(phenylazo) imidazole (PaiMe),1-ethyl-2-(tolylazo) imidazole (TaiEt) and 1-H-2-(napthylazo) imidazole (NaaiH) is reported and the substituent effect on the SER spectra of these molecules is also presented in this chapter. Chapter 9 summarizes the experimental results described in chapters 3-8. It is revealed that AAI molecules undergo chemical interaction with the SNPs mainly through the imidazole N atom and/or azo N atoms. Also the 𝜋-electron system of the aryl group significantly contributes to the charge transfer between the AAI molecules and the SNPs depending on the side group attached to it and the concentration in Ag sol. It is inferred that because of the presence of 𝜋-electron system of the aryl group, imidazole N atoms and azo N atoms the arylazo imidazole molecules may find significant use as prospective smart molecules to show various functionality.Item Open Access Socio-economic aspects of migration from rural India: study of West Bengal(University of North Bengal, 2019) Das, Yasodhara; Roy Mukherjee, Sanchari; Ramachandran, V. K.This thesis is concerned with short term/seasonal/circular migration for work from rural India. It attempts to describe and critically analyse the magnitude of such migration from the available secondary and primary sources of data and will try to bring out the relevance of such migration from rural West Bengal. According to the 64th round of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) on Employment, Unemployment and Migration (2007-8) there were 324 million internal migrants in India, which is almost 29 per cent of the total population, 140 million of whom were workers. On the remittance front, the NSS estimates reveal that international remittances received in India comprised about half of the domestic remittances received. The results also indicate that ninety-one per cent of migrants in rural areas and 59 per cent of migrants in urban areas in India had migrated from a rural region. Rural migrants thus constitute a large proportion of short-term /seasonal/circularmigrants who move for work/employment related reasons.The 55th (1999-2000) and the 64th rounds (2007-8) of the NSSO tried to quantify short duration migration.Estimates of short-term migrants vary from 15 million (NSSO 2007–8) to 40 million (Srivastava, 2011) to 100 million (Deshingkar and Akter 2009). Research on the socio-economic characteristics of this stream of migrant workers and the impact of migrant earnings on the rural household incomes, is thus necessary for an understanding of this crucial segment of India‘s labour force. A brief overview of the chapters of this thesis is given below: The first chapter introduces the research topic; reviews the available literature relevant to the study, states the research questions and the research methodology followed during study.The second chapter is intended to describe and critically evaluate the results obtained from the secondary database available i.e. the Census and the NSS surveys and compare their methodology with that of various primary surveys on internal migration. The third chapter is intended to describe and critically evaluate the results obtained from the secondary database i.e. the NSS survey with special focus on West Bengal. The fourth chapter introduces the villages which will be studied as the origin of the migrant worker. For this purpose I study the villages of West Bengal which were surveyed by the Foundation for Agrarian Studies as part of the 2010 West Bengal Round survey of the Project on Agrarian Relations in India (PARI). The fifth chapter is intended to compare the socio-economic conditions of migrant and non-migrant households in the study villages. The sixth chapter analyses the difference between migrant and non-migrant households with respect to rural household incomes. The seventh chapter studies the migrant worker at the destination. The samples for this study are the migrant construction workers from West Bengal who migrate to the Ernakulam district of Kerala. The demographic and socio-economic characteristicsof migrant workers is studied in this chapter. The final chapter summarizes the specific findings of the chapters of the thesis.Item Open Access Formulation and characterization of room temperature ferroelectric and antiferroelectric liquid crystal mixtures(University of North Bengal, 2018) Debnath, Asim; Mandal, Pradip KumarNow-a-days displays have become a field of tremendous importance as they provide the best means for interface between man and machine. Large numbers of displays are presently available in the market, but among all these displays about 90% are controlled by the liquid crystal display (LCD) technology. Most of the LCD devices starting from simplest wrist watches or calculators to complex laptops or flat TV sets mainly use the nematic liquid crystal phase for their operation. Although a tremendous improvement in the quality of display as well as reduction of manufacturing cost has taken place over the years, there are many issues which the LC industry is trying hard to address. Ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLC) are of current interest in the LCD industry since among various other advantages FLC based displays have micro-second order switching compared to milli-second order switching in nematic based displays. To meet the market demand much effort has been made to optimize the physical parameters of FLCs, such as temperature range, spontaneous polarization (PS), helical pitch (p), switching time (τ), tilt angle (θ) and rotational viscosity (γφ). Multicomponent mixtures are, usually formulated to optimize all the required properties for practical applications since no single FLC compound can satisfy the above requirements. Keeping all these in mind we have prepared room temperature ferroelectric and antiferroelectric liquid crystal mixtures to the best of our knowledge first time by any Indian group, which have properties suitable for FLC based display devices and at par with mixtures used in the industry. Suitability of the formulated mixtures for display applications were characterized by optical polarizing microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, synchrotron X-ray diffraction, dielectric spectroscopy and electrooptic methods. First of all, six binary mixtures (M1-M6) were formulated by using a biphenylyl benzoate ester with oligomethylene spacer based non-flourinated chiral compound (DP1) as dopant and a three ring pyrimidine compound (H5) as host. Of these, M4 exhibit the wide range (100o) and lowest temperature (24oC) ferroelectric phase at 10wt% concentration of DP1. In addition to I-N*- A*-C* phase sequence all the mixtures found to exhibit weakly temperature dependent optical tilt (~22.5o) and fast response time (~200μs), can be useful for high speed SSFLCD applications where contrast and brightness will be less temperature dependent. Temperature range and response time are also found to improve when the binary mixture M4 is used as chiral dopant in a multicomponent host mixture (HM) to formulate another mixture (M7). Next, six multi-component mixtures (M8-M13) were prepared by doping a nonmesogenic chiral terphenyl compound (DP2) with chiral centers at opposite ends in the multi-component host mixture (HM). This HM was prepared mixing four phenyl pyrimidine compounds. Although DP2 is non-mesogenic but only 2wt% of it induces SmC* phase in the HM at or close to room temperature and with increased concentration it produces SmC* phase below ambient down to at least 12°C with physical properties useful for SSFLCD based applications. An oligomethylene spacer based partially fluorinated chiral liquid crystal (DP3) which has smaller spacer length than DP3 and which has only SmC* phase when doped in the HM, resulting mixture (M14) was found to exhibit very broad temperature range SmC* phase (~93o) from below ambient down to at least 12°C and almost temperature independent high optical tilt, low driving voltage and switching speed around 100μs suitable for display applications. To study the effect of SmC*A- SmC*- SmA* phase sequence and molecular structure, four partially fluorinated chiral compounds DP4, DP5, DP6, DP7, which differ only in the number and position of fluorine atoms in the benzoate ring of the molecular rigid core, were doped in the multi-component host mixture (HM). Number and location of fluorine atoms in the dopant structure shows significant effect on the phase sequences as well as on the different physical properties of the mixtures (M15-M18) critically important for display applications. Mixture M15 and M18 showed extended antiferroelectric phase while M16 and M17 exhibited only ferroelectric phase. A wide range room temperature electroclinic mixture, M19 was obtained when only 10wt% of DP6 was mixed in the HM. The mixture exhibits large field induced optical tilt (~23.5o) with less than 0.1% shrinkage of layers suitable for developing fast electroclinic devices free from defects due to buckling of layers. Most of the results have been published in the peer reviewed journals viz; Journal of Applied Physics, Journal of Molecular Liquids, RSC Advances, Liquid Crystals.Item Open Access Investigation in solution properties of bio-active solutes and mineral salts prevailing in some aqueous and non-aqueous solvent system(University of North Bengal, 2012) Roy, Pran Kumar; Roy, Mahendra NathThermo-physical and bulk properties of solutions are very useful to obtain information on the intermolecular interactions and geometrical effects in the systems. Moreover, knowledge of the thermodynamic properties is essential for the proper design of industrial processes. Accurate knowledge of thermodynamic properties of solution mixtures has great relevance in theoretical and applied areas of research. The branch of physical chemistry that studies the change in properties that arise when one substance dissolves in another substance is termed as solution chemistry. It investigates the solubility of substances and how it is affected by the chemical nature of both the solute and the solvent. The mixing of different solute or solvent with another solvent/solvent mixtures gives rise to solutions that generally do not behave ideally. This deviation from ideality is expressed in terms of many thermodynamic parameters, by excess properties in case of liquid-liquid mixtures and apparent molar properties in case of solid-liquid mixtures. These thermodynamic properties of solvent mixtures corresponds to the difference between the actual property and the property if the system behves ideally and thus are useful in the study of molecular interactions and arraangements. In particular, they reflect the interaction that take place between solute-solute, solute-solvent and solvent-solvent species.However, the exact structure of the solvent molecule is not known with certainity. The addition of an ion or solute modifies the solvent structure to an extent whereas the solute molecules are also modified. The extent of ion-salvation is dependent upon the interactions taking place between solute-solute, solute-solvent, solvent-solvent species. The assesment of ion-pairing in these systems is important because of its effect on the ionic mobility and hence on the ionic conductivity of the ions in solution. These phenomenon thus paves the path for research in solution chemistry to elucidate the nature of interaction through experimental studies involving densitometry, viscometry, interferrometry, refractometry and other suitable methods and to interpret the experimental data collected. Caffeine, nicotinamide, resorsinol, glycine, catechol, oxalic acid, tetrabutyl ammonium iodide, tetra pentyl ammonium iodide, tetra hexyl ammonium iodide, tetra heptyl ammonium iodide, N-Cetyl-N,N,N-trimethyl ammonium bromide, DGlucose, D-Mannitol, D-Sucrose, thorium nitrate, sodium molibdate, phosphomolibdic acid, lithim nitrate, potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, silver sulphate which are considered as solutes, have been chosen in this research work. Nitrobenzene, carbon tetrachloride, 2-Methoxy ethanol, along with water also considered as solvents. These solutes and solvents have wide application in chemical fields and various industries like pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, battery technology, agricultural products etc. In this research work more emphasis have been given to Bio active compounds ("plant bioactives" or "bioactive compounds") they are mainly inherent non-nutrient constituents of food plants and edible mushrooms with anticipated health promoting and toxic effects when ingested. Bioactive compounds derived from plant foods, are of growing interest to the scientific community and food industry because of their putative health-promoting properties. Increasing evidences report beneficial effects of bioactive compounds, particularly against cancers, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. They may also serve as adjusting factors in human body due to their physiological activity. Most bioactive compounds of natural origin are secondary metabolites, i.e., species-specific chemical agents. Information about food sources, concentrations and intakes of bioactive compounds, as well knowledge of their absorption, metabolism and biological effects, is needed in order to evaluate their potential health benefits. Pharmacological activity is usually taken to describe beneficial effects of bioactive compounds. There is sufficient evidence to recommend consuming food sources rich in bioactive compounds. From a practical perspective, this translates to recommending a diet rich in a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, oils, and nuts. In the body under physiological conditions, many vital functions are regulated by pulsed or transient release of bioactive substances at a specific time and site. Thus, to mimic the function of living systems, it is important to develop new drug delivery devices to achieve pulsed delivery of a certain amount of a bioactive compound at predetermined time intervals. The ability to deliver bioactive compounds and/ or therapeutic agents to a patient in a palatine or staggered release profile has been a major goal in drug delivery research over the last two decades. Rice bran has been recognized as an excellence source of bioactive compounds, but only a small amount is consumed by humans. The limitation of using rice bran in a food industry is its rough texture and low concentration of bioactive compounds, when incorporated into food products. Various methods have been developed to enhance the level of bioactive components in food materials, including thermal, alkali, acid and chemical treatments. Many bioactive compounds have been discovered. These compounds vary widely in chemical structure and function and are grouped accordingly. Phenolic compounds, including their subcategory, flavonoids, are present in all plants and have been studied extensively in cereals, legumes, nuts, olive oil, vegetables, fruits, tea, and red wine. Many phenolic compounds have antioxidant properties, and some studies have demonstrated favorable effects on thrombosis and tumorogenesis and promotion. One of many phenolics in olives and olive oil is a potent antioxidant. Resveratrol, found in nuts and red wine, has antioxidant, antithrombotic, and anti-inflammatory properties, and inhibits carcinogenesis. Lycopene, a potent antioxidant carotenoid in tomatoes and other fruits, is thought to protect against prostate and other cancers, and inhibits tumor cell growth in animals. Catechol is used mainly as a precursor to pesticides, flavors and fragrances. It is also consumed in the production of pesticides, the remainder being used as a precursor to fine chemicals such as perfumes and pharmaceuticals. Mannitol is used clinically to reduce acutely raised intracranial pressure until more definitive treatment can be applied, e.g., after head trauma. It is also used to treat patients with oliguric renal failure.Glucose circulates in the blood, providing energy to organs, glands, muscles, indeed to every cell Glucose is used in oxidation. More complex sugars have to be changed to glucose first before they can be broken down to release energy in respiration Glucose is a ubiquitous fuel in biology. Caffeine is an alkaloid of methylxanthine family, its main pharmacological properties are a stimulant action on the central nervous system .it also acts as a natural pesticide since it paralyses and kills some of the insects. Organosulfur compounds in garlic and onions, isothiocyanates in cruciferous vegetables, and monoterpenes in citrus fruits, cherries, and herbs have anticarcinogenic actions in experimental models, as well as cardioprotective effects. Sodium Molybdate is used in industry for corrosion inhibition, as it is a nonoxidizing anodic inhibitor. The addition of sodium molybdate significantly reduces the nitrite requirement of fluids inhibited with nitrite-amine, and improves the corrosion protection of carboxylate salt fluids. Phosphomolybdic acid is widely used to stain connective tissues by dyes. It has been found polyvalent phosphomolybdic acid appears to form a bridge between the basic group of the substrate and the basic group of the dye. Oxalic acid and oxalates are useful as reducing agents for photography, bleaching, and rust removal. They are widely used as a purifying agent in pharmaceutical industry, precipitating agent in rare-earth metal processing, bleaching agent in textile and wood industry, rust-remover for metal treatment, grinding agent, waste water treatment. It is used as acid rinse in laundries and removing scale from automobile radiators. Nicotinamide is commonly known as vitamin B. It plays a very important role to maintain the normal function of the digestive systems and cholesterol levels in the human body. The combination of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide is clinically referred to as niacin. Glycine serves as a buffering agent in antacids, analgesics, antiperspirants, cosmetics, and toiletries. Glycine is an intermediate in the synthesis of a variety of chemical products. In summary numerous bioactive compounds appear to have beneficial health effects. I Much scientific research needs to be conducted before we can begin to make science-based dietary recommendations. On the other hand minerals are naturally-occurring elements needed by the body and its vital activities. Each mineral, with its own specific task, even in the small and often minute quantities necessary, is indispensable for important life functions; they are needed for the formation of hormones, enzymes and other body substances. They're generally found in foods in the form of chemical compounds called salts and in water in the form of ion.soluble. Animals need more than salt for proper health and nutrition. Animals need trace mineral supplements. They are needed in very small amounts, or traces, in the diet, and hence their name, "trace minerals. Mineral salts do not usually contain the element carbon and are therefore inorganic (organic compounds always contain carbon).Plant roots absorb individual mineral ions from soil water. Some of the ions travel by diffusion into the root; others are absorbed by active transport. The minerals required in the greatest amounts are those containing the element nitrogen, for example nitrate ions ( or 'nitrates'), which are a key component of inorganic fertilizer. A plant uses nitrates in the production of proteins such as enzymes, so they are important for plant growth. They are often in short supply in the soil, which is why inorganic fertilizers are required. Plants also require magnesium in order to make chlorophyll, the green chemical that absorbs the ei:iergy of sunlight for photosynthesis. Sodium nitrate is used as an ingredient in fertilizers, pyrotechnics, as an ingredient in smoke bombs, as a food preservative, and as a solid rocket propellant, as well as in glass and pottery enamels. Potassium nitrate is a strong oxidizer which burns and explodes with organics. It is used in the manufacture of gunpowder. It is also used in explosives, fireworks, matches, and fertilizers, and as a preservative in foods especially meats. It is sometimes used in medicine as a diuretic. Lithium nitrate is used as an electrolyte for high temperature batteries. It is also used for long life batteries as required, for example, by artificial pacemakers. The solid is used as a phosphor for neutron detection.Quaternary ammonium compounds compounds are used as, Surface-active agents , Solvents , Intermediates, Active Ingredient for Conditioners, Antistatic Agent, Detergent Sanitisers, Softner for textiles and paper products, Phase Transfer Catalyst, Antimicrobials, Disinfection Agents And Sanitizers, Slimicidal Agents, Algaecide, Emulsifying Agents, Pigment Dispersers. The study of these solvents and solutes, in general, are of interest because of their wide use in many industries with interests ranging from pharmaceutical to cosmetic products. Summary of the Works Done CHAPTERI This chapter contains the object and applications of the research work, the solvents and solutes used and methods of investigations. This also involves the summary of the works done associated with the thesis. CHAPTER-II This chapter contains the general introduction of the thesis and forms the background of the present work. A brief review of notable works in the field of ionsolvent interaction has been given. The discussion includes solute-solvent, solutesolute and solvent-solvent interactions of mixed solvent systems and of electrolytes in pure, aqueous, non-aqueous solvent systems at various temperatures in terms of various derived parameters of conductance, density, viscosity, ultrasonic speed, and refractive index. Critical evaluations of different methods on the relative merits and demerits on the basis of various assumptions employed from time to time of obtaining the single ion values and their implications have been made. The molecular interactions are interpreted based on various equations. l., CHAPTER-III This chapter contains the experimental section which mainly involves the structure, source, purification and application of the solvents and solutes used and the details of the experimental methods employed for measurement of the thermodynamic, transport, acoustic and optical properties. CHAPTER-IV This chapter quantifies the Precise measurements on electrical conductances of tetraalkylammonium iodides, R4NI (R = butyl to heptyl) in different mass% (20- 80) of carbon tetrachloride + nitrobenzene at 298.15 K have been performed. Limiting molar conductances ( A0 ), association constants (KA) and co-sphere diameter ( R) for ion-pair formation in the mixed solvent mixtures have been evaluated using the Lee-Wheaton conductivity equation. However, the deviation of the conductometric curves ( A versus ✓c ) from linearity for the electrolytes in 80 mass% of carbon tetrachloride + nitrobenzene indicated triple ion formation and therefore corresponding conductance data have been analyzed by the Fuoss- Kraus theory of triple ions. Limiting ionic molar conductances (A~) have been calculated by the reference electrolyte method along with a numerical evaluation of ion-pair and triple-ion formation constants ( KP ~ KA and Kr); the results have been discussed in terms of solvent properties, configurational theory and molecular scale model. CHAPTER-V In this chapter, Partial molar volumes ( (l) and viscosity B-coefficients for nicotinamide in (0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20) mol.dm-3 aqueous resorcinol solutions have been determined from solution density and viscosity measurements at (298.15, 308.15, and 318.15) Kasa function of the concentration of nicotinamide (NA). Here the relation ¢i = a0 + a1T + a2T2 , has been used to describe the temperature dependence of the partial molar volume ( ¢i) .These results and the results obtained in pure water were used to calculate the standard volumes of transfer ( t1¢i) and viscosity B-coefficients of transfer for nicotinamide from water to aqueous resorcinol solutions to study various interactions in the ternary solutions. The partial molar volume ( ¢S) and experimental slopes obtained from the Masson equation have been interpreted in terms of solute-solvent and solutesolute interactions, respectively. The viscosity data have been analyzed using the Jones-Dole equation, and the derived parameters Band A have also been interpreted in terms of solute-solvent and solute-solute interactions, respectively in the ternary solutions. The structure making or breaking ability of nicotinamide has been discussed in terms of the sign of (c>2¢i I 8T 2 ) p. The activation parameters of viscous flow for the ternary solutions studied were also calculated and explained by the application of transition state theory. CHAPTER-VI Proteins are complex molecules and their behavior in solutions is governed by a combination of many specific interactions. One approach that reduces the degree of complexity and requires less complex measurement techniques is to study the interactions in systems containing smaller biomolecules, such as amino acids and peptides. Some studies have revealed that the presence of an electrolyte drastically affects the behaviors of amino acids in solutions and this fact can be used for their separation and purification. Therefore, in this chapter an attempt has been made to unravel the various interactions prevailing in a amino acid, Glycine in aqueous silver sulphate solutions by volumetric, viscometric study at 298.15, 308.15, 318.15 K. CHAPTER-VII In this chapter Apparent molar volume ( r/Jv) and viscosity B-coefficients were measured for phosphomolybdic acid in aqueous solution of catechol from solution density [p) and viscosity [TJ) at 298.15, 308.15 and 318.lSK at various solute concentrations. The experimental density data were evaluated by Masson equation and the derived data were interpreted in terms of ion-solvent and ion-ion interactions. The viscosity data have been analyzed using Jones -Dole equation and the derived parameters, B and A, have been interpreted in terms of ion-solvent and ion-ion interactions respectively. The structure-making or breaking capacity of the solute under investigation has been discussed in terms of sign of(f/¢i I 8T 2 ) p. The activation parameters of viscous flow were determined and discussed by application of transition state theory. CHAPTER-VIII This chapter presents a study of densities, viscosities and sound speeds have been determined for sodium molybdate in various mole-fractions of aqueous oxalic acid solutions. From the experimental data, apparent molar volume ( ¢v) and viscosity B-coefficients were calculated at 303.15, 313.15 and 323.lSK using Masson equation and Jones - Dole equation respectively. Adiabatic compressibility of different solutions has been determined from measurement of ultrasonic speeds of sound at 303.lSK. Partial molar volumes ( r/Ji) and viscosity B-coefficients (LlB) of transfer from water to aqueous oxalic acid mixtures have been calculated and discussed. The structure-making or breaking capacity of the solute under investigation has been discussed in terms of sign of ( 8 2 r/Ji I 8 T 2 ),, • The activation parameters of viscous flow were determined and discussed by application of transition state theory. CHAPTER-IX This chapter presents a study of Apparent molar volumes ( ¢i) and viscosity B-coefficients for mineral salts in aqueous binary mixture of 2-methoxy ethanol have been estimated from solution density and viscosity measurements at 298.15 K and at various electrolyte concentrations as a function of the concentration of mineral salts. Experimental density data were analyzed using the Masson equation and the derived parameters interpreted in terms of ion-solvent and ion-ion interactions. The viscosity data have been analyzed using the Jones-Dole equation, and the derived parameters B and A have also been interpreted in terms of solutesolvent and solute-solute interactions. CHAPTER-X In this chapter, Apparent molar volumes ( ¢v) and viscosity B-coefficients for some carbohydrates (D-Glucose, D-Mannitol and D-Sucrose) in 0.05%, 0.10%, 0.15%, aqueous cetrimmonium bromide (N-Cetyl-N,N,N-trimethyl ammonium bromide) (C19H42BrN) solutions have been determined from solution density (p) and viscosity (11) measurements at 298.15, 308.15, and 318.15 Kasa function of the concentration of carbohydrates. The standard partial molar volume ( ¢,~) and experimental slopes ( s:) obtained from the Masson equation have been interpreted in terms of solute-solvent and solute-solute interactions, respectively. The viscosity data were analyzed using the Jones-Dole equation, and the derived parameters A and B have also been interpreted in terms of solute-solvent and solute-solute interactions, respectively in the mixed solutions. The relation, ¢i = a0 + a1T + a2T2 , has been used to describe the temperature dependence of the standard partial molar volume ( ¢i ). The structure making or breaking ability of carbohydrates has been discussed in terms of sign of (8 2¢i / 8T 2 ) as well as dB/dT- The activation p J parameters of viscous flow were also determined and were discussed by the application of transition state theory. CHAPTER-XI This chapter contains Apparent molar volumes ( ¢v) and viscosity Bcoefficients for the alkaloid- caffeine in (0.00, 0.03, 0.05 and 0.07) mol · dm-3 aqueous thorium nitrate, Th(N03)4 solutions have been determined from solution density and viscosity measurements at temperatures in the range (298.15 to 318.15) K as function of concentration of caffeine. In the investigated temperature range, the relation:Item Open Access Preparation, characterization of bimetalic nanoparticles soakedon poly-ionic resins and their ctalalytic applications(University of North Bengal, 2014) Sengupta, Debasish; Basu, BasudebThe fields of catalysis and nanoscience have been inextricably linked to each other for quite some time. Several inorganic or organic materials like mesoporous silica, zeolites, charcoal, graphene oxides as well as organic polymers have been used either to promote surfacemediated reactions or to immobilize metal nanoparticles for catalytic performance. Both mono- and bi-metallic nanoparticles (NPs) embedded with heterogeneous supports exhibit improved catalytic activity and find applications in several industrial processes. Development of more active, versatile and recyclable catalysts has remained the contemporary challenges in this field of chemistry and catalysis. The present thesis entitled “PREPARATION, CHARACTERIZATION OF BIMETALLIC NANOPARTICLES SOAKED ON POLYIONIC RESINS AND THEIR CATALYTIC APPLICATIONS” has made some efforts to demonstrate new heterogeneous surface-promoted reactions as well as to develop mono- and bi-metallic nanocomposites mainly based on poly-ionic resins and graphene-based carbonaceous materials. These two different heterogeneous supports, either free or embedded with metals, have been utilized in diverse C−C, C−S and S−S bond-forming reactions. The thesis is divided into eight chapters. Chapter I summarizes a brief review on heterogeneous catalysis, nanocomposites and their catalytic applications. Chapter II describes the use poly-ionic resin hydroxide (Amberlyst® A-26(OH)), as an efficient heterogeneous base for the preparation of organic disulfides from alkyl and acyl methyl thiocyanates. Further extension of this protocol has been tested using two different organyl thiocyanates to prepare unsymmetrical disulfides. The present protocol shows the advantage of using the heterogeneous base Amberlyst A-26(OH) over some existing homogeneous bases (NaOH, NH3, K2CO3). The recyclability was also checked. Chapter III delineates a simple procedure for the preparation of poly-ionic amberlite resins embedded with CuO NPs (referred to as CuO@ARF). The as synthesized heterogeneous catalyst CuO@ARF was characterized and successfully applied in C−S cross–coupling reaction under ligand–free and 'on–water' conditions. Low loading of the catalyst, recyclability without leaching and chemoselectivity between aromatic halides are notable features. Further application of the chemoselectivity has been demonstrated in the synthesis of bioactive heterocyclic scaffold phenothiazine. Chapter IV deals with the bi-metallic nanocomposite material. Cationic and macroporous amberlite resins with formate (HCOO¯) as the counter anion (ARF) have been used to prepare a new class of heterogeneous Pd/Cu bimetallic composite nanoparticles (NPs) (Pd/Cu–ARF). The physicochemical characteristics of Pd/Cu−ARF revealed fairly uniform distributions of composite NPs of average size~4.9 nm. The nanocomposite material (Pd/Cu ARF) exhibited high catalytic activity in the Sonogashira cross‒coupling reaction between aryl iodide and terminal alkynes. Heterogeneity of the catalytic activity was evidenced from different tests (hot-filtration and catalyst-poisoning) and the recycling ability of the catalyst was examined for five consecutive runs without any significant loss of activity. Chapter V describes further use of the Pd/Cu bimetallic composite nanoparticles (Pd/Cu ARF) in other cross‒coupling reactions like Suzuki–Miyaura and Mizoroki–Heck reactions. The bi-metallic nanocomposite material was much effective as compared to monometallic Pd–ARF catalyst, as prepared in this laboratory previously. The catalyst was also recyclable for seven consecutive runs with excellent conversions. Chapter VI depicts successful application of graphene oxide (GO) as the metal-free carbocatalysts for (i) sequential dehydration–hydrothiolation reaction from a mixture of secondary aryl alcohols and thiols in toluene and (ii) chemoselective thioacetalization of aldehyde under mild, solvent-free and aerobic conditions. Chapter VII demonstrates the catalytic activity of Ni(0) nanoparticles supported with reduced graphene oxide (Ni/RGO) in Kumada‒Corriu cross‒coupling reaction. A detail study of the catalysis was performed by varying the haloarenes and Grignard reagents. Interestingly, this catalyst was found to be equally active for the oxidative addition to the sp2 C−F bond. The recyclability of the catalyst was examined for six consecutive runs without significant loss of activity. Finally the recovered Ni/RGO was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy and found to be unaltered. Chapter VIII describes the use of Ni/RGO nanocomposite in C−S cross‒coupling reaction. The catalyst was found to be recyclable for six consecutive runs, as examined.Item Open Access Spatial variations in the levels of development in Sikkim(University of North Bengal, 2013) Jana, Amar Kanti; Sahu, RangadharItem Open Access Reality of the concept of motion: east-west dialogue(University of North Bengal, 2013) Chattopadhyay, Sudipta; Chakrabarti, Bhaswati. B.