Calcium and oxygen doping in Y Ba2Cu3Oy

Both oxygen and calcium play important roles in inducing superconductivity in Y Ba₂Cu₃O_y (YBCO), which is an antiferromagnetic insulator at low O and Ca content. O induces superconductivity in Ca-free YBCO, while Ca does similarly in oxygen-deficient YBCO. For doping oxygen HgO was used as it decomposes at 476 ^°C into Hg, which escapes from the matrix leaving the crystal unaltered, and O, which provide a way to dope O in YBCO. Considering these facts, polycrystalline samples of Y _1−xCa_xBa₂Cu₃O_y with x=0, 0.1 and 0.2 with and without HgO addition were prepared through a solid-state reaction method. The samples were sintered at 950 ^°C in open atmosphere. These synthesized samples were characterized through using the X-ray diffraction technique (XRD) for phase evaluation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for grain morphology, energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) for compositional analysis and the four-contact measurement technique for determining the superconducting transition temperature.     

Simple theoretical analysis of the thermoelectric power in quantum dot superlattices of non-parabolic heavily doped semiconductors with graded interfaces under strong magnetic field

We study theoretically the thermoelectric power in the presence of a large magnetic field (TPM) in heavily doped III–V, II–VI, PbTe/PbSnTe, strained layer and HgTe/CdTe quantum dot superlattices (QDSLs) with graded structures on the basis of newly formulated electron energy spectra and compare the same with that of the constituent materials. It has been found, taking heavily doped GaAs/Ga_1−xAl_xAs, CdS/CdTe, PbTe/PbSnTe, InAs/GaSb and HgTe/CdTe QDSLs as examples, that the TPM increases with increasing inverse electron concentration and film thickness, respectively, in different oscillatory manners and the nature of oscillations is totally band structure dependent. We have also suggested the experimental methods of determining the Einstein relation for the diffusivity–mobility ratio, the Debye screening length and the electronic contribution to the elastic constants for materials having arbitrary dispersion laws.     

Synthesis,characterization and spectroscopic studies of pyrazinamide metal complexes

The present paper deals with the synthesis and characterization of Schiff base complexes of pyrazinamide an antitubercular drug. Metals selected for complexation are copper, silver, gold, zinc, mercury, iron and cobalt. The complexes have been suitably synthesized and isolated in pure powdered form. Analytical data agrees with the compositions M(L), M′(L)₂ and M″(L)₂·2H₂O, respectively where M = Ag, M′ = Cu, Au, Zn and Hg and M″ = Fe and Co, ligand metal ratios were also confirmed by monovariation method and Job’s method of continuous variation. Molar conductance values suggest the non ionic nature of the complexes. The tentative structure assigned to the complexes on the basis of stoichiometry and analytical data were further supported by spectral studies viz; IR, NMR, magnetic susceptibility and electronic spectra. A preliminary attempt has also been made to compare the potencies of metal complexes with parent drug. The Cu and Ag complexes are giving encouraging results. Particle size studies further suggest that the drug molecule undergoes reduction in size on complexation.     

Investigation into the rotational bands of ~(185)Pt with the particle-rotor model

Theoretical calculations have been performed for the ν9/2+[624](i13/2) and ν7/2-[503](f7/2) bands of 185Pt in the framework of particle-rotor model. The band properties of signature splitting and configuration mixing have been analyzed. The level energy and signature splitting before the band crossing can be well interpreted by introducing triaxiality. The positive-parity yrast band is pro posed to be dominated by the ν9/2+[624](i13/2) component, while the negative-parity band shows strong mixing of ν7/2-[5...     

Phonon response of the high‐temperature spin‐density‐wave superconductors

The phonon response of a spin density wave superconductor (SD^W-SC) is calculated. The phonon self energy due to electron-phonon interaction, which involves the electronic density response function, is evaluated explicitly for the coexistent SDW-SC state. It has a square-root singularity at a frequency corresponding to the superconducting gap 2Δ. As a consequence, the spectral density function of the SDW-phonon will show a peak at 2Δ The possibility of observing the 2Δ-peak by Raman scattering is discussed. The relevance of the results to high-temperature superconductors is pointed out. The available Raman data for YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δare compared with the results of the calculation.     

An optical study of phase transitions of poly (ethylene terephthalate-co-p-hydroxybenzoic acid) liquid crystal

The copolyester containing 40 mol % ethylene terephthalate (PET) and 60 mol % p-hydroxybenzoate (HB) units has been reported by several investigators to be biphasic in the solid and the liquid states. The reported thermal transitions in the two phases, however, are in part contradictory, perhaps partly due to different polymerization conditions. The present work is a study of the transitions in each of the two phases of this copolyester by polarized light microscopy and by light transmission measurements. By light transmission measurements, the two phases were found to have two different glass transition temperatures for the onset of segmental motion, consistent with two assignable temperatures (T.). Cold crystallization and melting in each of the two different phases was also detected. The results help clarify the nature of transitions and agree with the results of dynamic mechanical analysis on the same thermotropic liquid crystalline copolyester.     

A two pass heuristic algorithm for scheduling ‘blocked out’ units in continuous process industry

This paper addresses the problem of scheduling cascaded ‘blocked out’ continuous processing units separated by finite capacity storage tanks. The raw materials for the product lines arrive simultaneously on the input side of the first unit. But every unit can process only one product line at a time, thus giving rise to the possibility of spillage of raw material due to limited storage capacity. The need to process multiple product lines and the added constraint of multiple intermediate upliftment dates aggravate the problem. This problem is quite common in petrochemical industry. The paper provides a MINLP (Mixed Integer Non-Linear Programming) formulation of the problem. However, for any realistic scheduling horizon, the size of the problem is too large to be solved by standard packages. We have proposed a depth first branch and bound algorithm, guided by heuristics, to help planners in tackling the problem. The suggested algorithm could output near optimal solutions for scheduling horizons of 30 time periods when applied to real life situations involving 3 units and 3 product lines. Preliminary version of the paper appeared in the proceedings of MISTA, 2005.     

Markov property of continuous dislocation band propagation

Tensile tests were carried out by deforming polycrystalline samples of substitutional Al–2.5%Mg alloy at room temperature for a range of strain rates. The Portevin–Le Chatelier (PLC) effect was observed throughout the strain rate regime. The deformation bands in this region are found to be of type A in nature. From the analysis of the experimental stress time series data we could infer that the dynamics of type A dislocation band propagation is a Markov process.     

Kinetics of Surfactant-induced Aggregation of Lysozyme Studied by Fluorescence Spectroscopy

The study of protein conformational changes in the presence of surfactants and lipids is important in the context of protein folding and misfolding. In the present study, we have investigated the mechanism of the protein conformational change coupled with aggregation leading to size growth of Hen Egg White Lysozyme (HEWL) in the presence of an anionic detergent such as sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) in alkaline pH. We have utilized intrinsic protein fluorescence (tryptophan) and extrinsic fluorescent reporters such as 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonic acid (ANS), dansyl and fluorescein to follow the protein conformational change in real-time. By analyzing the kinetics of fluorescence intensity and anisotropy of multiple fluorescent reporters, we have been able to delineate the mechanism of surfactant-induced aggregation of lysozyme. The kinetic parameters reveal that aggregation proceeds with an initial fast-phase (conformational change) followed by a slow-phase (self-assembly). Our results indicate that SDS, below critical micelle concentration, induces conformational expansion that triggers the aggregation process at a micromolar protein concentration range.