Production study of high specific activity NCA Re-186g by proton and deuteron cyclotron irradiation

Very high specific activity (A_S) ^186gRe could be produced by either proton or deuteron cyclotron irradiation on highly enriched ¹⁸⁶W target in no-carrier-added (NCA) form, leading to a A_S very close to the theoretical carrier free (CF) value of 6.88 GBq μg⁻¹. Thick Target Yields (TTYs), obtained irradiating both thick metal W targets of natural isotopic composition and highly enriched powdered ¹⁸⁶W targets, were measured at different particles energies taking into account high accuracy and precision. The evaluation of radionuclidic purities of ^186gRe obtained activating highly enriched ¹⁸⁶W by both p and d were also carried out and accurately compared. The thin-target excitation functions for all Re (A = 181, 182, 183, 184, 186 and their metastable levels), and W and Ta coproduced radionuclides will be presented elsewhere in deep details.     

Nuclear model calculation on charge particle induced reaction on Rb and Kr targets and targetry for 82Sr production

The ⁸²Sr/⁸²Rb radionuclide generator is used very commonly in positron emission tomography. ALICE/ASH and TALYS 1.0 codes were used to calculate excitation functions for proton, alpha and ³He induced on various targets that lead to produce ⁸²Sr radioisotope using intermediate energy accelerators. Recommended thickness of the targets according to SRIM code was premeditated. The application of those data, particularly in the calculation of integral yields, is discussed and theoretical integral yields for any reaction were computed. To consider precision of TALYS 1.0 code calculations, ⁸⁵Rb(p,4n)⁸²Sr process was determined as most interesting one due to radionuclide purity. The TALYS 1.0 code predicts a maximum cross-section of about 130 mb at 47 MeV for this reaction. Rubidium chloride deposition on copper substrate was carried out via sedimentation method in order to produce ⁸²Sr. 2.98 g RbCl, 1.043 g ethyl cellulose, 10 mL acetone were used to prepare a layer of enriched rubidium chloride of 11.69 cm² area and 0.34 g/cm² thickness.     

Fuzzy delay differential equations

In this paper, we prove a local existence and uniqueness result for fuzzy delay differential equations driven by Liu process. We also establish continuous dependence of solution with respect to initial data.     

Fabrication and application of a new modified electrochemical sensor using nano-silica and a newly synthesized Schiff base for simultaneous determination of Cd,Cu and Hg ions in water and some foodstuff samples

A new chemically modified carbon paste electrode was constructed and used for rapid, simple, accurate, selective and highly sensitive simultaneous determination of cadmium, copper and mercury using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). The carbon paste electrode was modified by N,N′-bis(3-(2-thenylidenimino)propyl)piperazine coated silica nanoparticles. Compared with carbon paste electrode, the stripping peak currents had a significant increase at the modified electrode. Under the optimized conditions (deposition potential, −1.100 V vs. Ag/AgCl; deposition time, 60 s; resting time, 10 s; SW frequency, 25 Hz; pulse amplitude, 0.15 V; dc voltage step height, 4.4 mV), the detection limit was 0.3, 0.1 and 0.05 ng mL⁻¹ for the determination of Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Hg²⁺, respectively. The complexation reaction of the ligand with several metal cations in methanol was studied and the stability constants of the complexes were obtained. The effects of different cations and anions on the simultaneous determination of metal ions were studied and it was found that the electrode is highly selective for the simultaneous determination of Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Hg²⁺. Furthermore, the present method was applied to the determination of Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Hg²⁺ in water and some foodstuff samples.     

Nearly Kähler Submanifolds of a Space Form

In this article, we study isometric immersions of nearly Kähler manifolds into a space form (especially Euclidean space) and show that every nearly Kähler submanifold of a space form has an umbilic foliation whose leafs are 6-dimensional nearly Kähler manifolds. Moreover, using this foliation we show that there is no non-homogeneous 6-dimensional nearly Kähler submanifold of a space form. We prove some results towards a classification of nearly Kähler hypersurfaces in standard space forms.     

Growth Orientation of the Mechanosynthesized Fluorapatite-Based Composite Nanopowders: Influence of Subsequent Thermal Treatment

Growth orientation of fluorapatite–zirconia nanopowders was investigated after mechanical activation and thermal annealing process in the range of 600–1,300 °C for 1 h. Results revealed that during heating of the composite nanopowders the transition of the monoclinic zirconia to tetragonal form and its stabilization by calcium fluoride originating from the decomposition of fluorapatite as well as the formation of a solid solution of calcium fluoride in zirconia occurred. The influence of annealing on the growth orientation of fluorapatite–zirconia composite nanopowders indicated that the crystal growth of fluorapatite was preferentially accentuated on the (002) face in the direction of the crystallographic c-axis after heat treatment. Based on FE–SEM observations, the experimental outcome was composed of both agglomerates and fine particles (~33 nm) after 600 °C, while annealing of the sample at 1,300 °C demonstrated the occurrence of abnormal grain growth.     

Theoretical studies on tautomerism of imidazole-2-selenone

The tautomerism of all possible forms of imidazole selenone (ISe1–ISe6), induced by proton transfer was studied theoretically in different environments including gas phase, continuum solvent, and microhydrated environment with one explicit water molecule. The calculations were performed at the MP2 and CAM-B3LYP levels of theory, separately. It was found that the imidazole selenone, in the form of ISe3, is the most stable isomer in both gas phase and solvent. The activation energy for conversion of ISe3 to imidazole selenol (ISe6), as the second stable form, is 41.72 and 43.0 kcal/mol in the gas phase and water, respectively. The infrared spectral frequencies as well as the vibrational frequency shifts were reported and assigned to their corresponding vibrational modes. In addition, the variation of dipole moments and charges on the atoms with change of solvent was studied. The energies of HOMO, LUMO, and HOMO–LUMO gap were calculated in both gas phase and solvent. Specific solvent effects with addition of water molecule near the electrophilic centers of tautomers and the transition states of proton transfer, assisted by water molecule, were investigated. It was found that the water molecule can form different hydrogen bonds with the molecule. Aggregation of the isomers with water molecule does not change the order of stability of isomers, but proton transfer reaction assisted by a water molecule needs less energy than when the proton shifts through the intramolecular process.     

Thermoanalytical study of linkage isomerism in coordination compounds

The non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments revealed that linkage isomerization of both pure trans-[Co(en)₂(ONO)₂]PF₆ (dinitrito isomer) and trans-[Co(en)₂(NO₂)₂]PF₆ (dinitro isomer) occurs in the solid state at elevated temperatures. The process was found to be exothermic for the dinitrito isomer and endothermic for dinitro isomer. The pure isomers could be considered to be in metastable states at ambient temperatures which would be converted to an equilibrium mixture of both isomers (stable state) upon heating. Since the isomerization of both isomers may be described as a two stages process, the corresponding DSC peaks have been resolved into two peaks by means of nonlinear curve fitting tools of PeakFit^® software. The resolution of the peaks helped us to determine enthalpy changes of stepwise isomerization of both isomers. A first-order initial rate and Kissinger methods have been employed to estimate kinetic parameters of the stepwise isomerization reactions. The Kissinger method provided more reliable kinetic results. The high activation energy and positive entropy changes of isomerization of both isomers are considered as indication of a dissociative mechanism in solid state.