Carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy of some pentacyclic triterpenoids

Carbon-13 NMR signal assignment of a number of polyoxygenated triterpenes of the olean-12-ene and urs-12-ene series, carried out by considering the changes in chemical shift produced by the change of oxygenation pattern(s), and using methyl oleanolate as a model, are reported.     

Design of medium energy beam transport line between the RFQ and the Linac in the radioactive ion beam facility at VECC,Kolkata

The design of a medium energy beam transport (MEBT) line comprising of a re-buncher and four quadrupoles, two upstream and the other two downstream of the re-buncher, has been presented. The design was done to ensure almost 100% transport of heavy-ion beams of about 99 keV/u energy from RFQ having a q/A not less than 1/14 through the re-buncher and then through IH Linac of about 0.6 m length in which beam would be accelerated to about 185 keV/u. The re-buncher has been designed to operate at 37.8 MHz, the resonating frequency of both the RFQ and the IH Linac. The entire beam line has been installed and recently O⁵⁺ beam from RFQ has been transported through the re-buncher and subsequently accelerated in the IH Linac successfully.     

Optical switching in a Ξ system: A comparative study on DROP and EIT

Liquid Lennard-Jones clusters with magic number of atoms N = 55, 147, 309, 561 and 923 were cooled down in Monte Carlo simulations until freezing. Structural properties of the clusters, including the radial dependence of atomic concentration/density and the local regular structure in arrangement of atoms, just before freezing were analysed. Existence of spherical layers in atomic density around the centre of mass of liquid LJ clusters was confirmed. Formation of layers is explained by central net forces acting on every cluster atom and leading to positioning an atom close to the cluster centre of mass. The strong layering in small clusters of N = 55 and 147 affects atomic diffusion in radial and tangential directions inside the cluster, leading to easier movement of atoms on the layer surface. Analysis of radial profiles of four types of structural units detected in liquid clusters reveals that icosahedral units are the most numerous and are located mainly near cluster surface of all clusters and also in the centre of small clusters.     

Lifetime maximization in wireless directional sensor network

This paper addresses two versions of a lifetime maximization problem for target coverage with wireless directional sensor networks. The sensors used in these networks have a maximum sensing range and a limited sensing angle. In the first problem version, predefined sensing directions are assumed to be given, whereas sensing directions can be freely devised in the second problem version. In that case, a polynomial-time algorithm is provided for building sensing directions that allow to maximize the network lifetime. A column generation algorithm is proposed for both problem versions, the subproblem being addressed with a hybrid approach based on a genetic algorithm, and an integer linear programming formulation. Numerical results show that addressing the second problem version allows for significant improvements in terms of network lifetime while the computational effort is comparable for both problem versions.     

Application of advanced nuclear analytical techniques for the electrocatalyst's characterization: Paving the path for mechanistic investigations

As the application of electrocatalyst continues to expand, envisaging the hidden mechanisms occurring at various length scale affecting the catalytic efficiency became important. To enhance the stability of electrocatalyst and reduce the cost, it is of paramount importance to reveal the active site's dynamics (using in situ techniques for getting the real-time information) which directly affect the reactions such as oxygen evolution reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction, and so on. Since such reactions are crucial for many engineering and scientific applications, in situ characterization techniques are required, which could capture such reactions happening at a different length and time scale. This article analyzes the recent progress made in the field of electrocatalyst's characterization using in situ neutron techniques. The article also paves the future path and has delineated the future challenges involved in multiscale correlative techniques (e.g., neutron techniques in the combination of synchrotron or microscopic techniques) used for getting the multiscale (atomic to micrometer range) mechanistic information about the electrocatalyst's working and degradation.     

Thermophysical properties of neat and radiolytically degraded acidic extractants present in room temperature ionic liquid

In the present work, radon concentrations were measured in surface and underground water samples in Faridabad District of Southern Haryana, India using an active radon monitor based on alpha scintillation technique and results have been inter-compared. The average radon concentration in the underground water samples was observed to be 4 times higher than in the surface water samples. The estimated annual effective dose varied from 5.7 to 58.5 μSvy^?1 with an average of 24.2 μSvy^?1 for underground water samples and 1.1 to 12.5 μSvy^?1 with an average of 6.7 μSvy^?1 for surface water samples. The estimated annual effective dose for both type of samples was found to be less than 0.1 mSvy^?1, which is the safe limit as suggested by World Health Organisation and EU Council.

     

Chemical agents for binding post-translationally methylated lysines and arginines

Post-translational methylation, discovered more than half a century ago, encodes information in the form of a structural modification on a peptide or protein. The addition of a CH₃ group is one of the most subtle covalent modifications that exist in biology. In spite of this, recent years have revealed the many profound functional effects that arise from protein methylation in the cell. In an effort to open the doors to new assays and detection methods that would enable new basic and applied research into methylation pathways, chemical agents that can recognise and bind to methylated sites are now being pursued. In this review, we describe the supramolecular approaches to the recognition of methylated amino acids, peptides and proteins that have arisen in the last few years.     

A novel [Cu II 4] cluster from the assembly of two [Cu II 2L]+ units by a central mu4-1,1,2,2 perchlorate ligand

A perchlorate ligand in the rare mu4-1,1,2,2 binding mode is seen for the first time as the sole support for the assembly of two cationic [Cu II 2L]+ fragments (H3L = a dinucleating ligand) in the formation of a magnetically-exchanged tetranuclear cluster.     

Adsorption of basic fuchsin using waste materials--bottom ash and deoiled soya--as adsorbents

Basic fuchsin, a triaminotriphenylmethane dye, was removed by adsorption utilizing two waste materials--"bottom ash," a power plant waste material, and "deoiled soya," an agriculture waste product. The adsorbents were characterized through IR spectroscopy and differential thermal analysis (DTA). Batch adsorption experiments were carried out by measuring effects of pH, adsorbate concentration, sieve size, amount of adsorbent, contact time, temperature, etc. The results have been verified on the basis of Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models and data obtained have been applied to calculate thermodynamic parameters. Specific rate constants for the processes were calculated by kinetic measurements and a pseudo-second-order adsorption kinetics was observed in each case. To identify whether the ongoing process is particle diffusion or film diffusion, the treatment given by Boyd and Reichenberg was employed. To assess the practical utility of the adsorbent, the aqueous adsorbate samples were eluted through fixed-bed columns of respective adsorbents. Attempts were also made to recover the adsorbed dyes by passing suitable solvent through the columns.