Electron Acceleration by Beating of Two Intense Cross-Focused Hollow Gaussian Laser Beams in Plasma

This paper presents propagation of two cross-focused intense hollow Gaussian laser beams(HGBs) in collisionless plasma and its effect on the generation of electron plasma wave(EPW) and electron acceleration process,when relativistic and ponderomotive nonlinearities are simultaneously operative. Nonlinear differential equations have been set up for beamwidth of laser beams, power of generated EPW, and energy gain by electrons using WKB and paraxial approximations. Numerical simulations have been carried out to investigate the effect of typical laser-plasma parameters on the focusing of laser beams in plasmas and further its effect on power of excited EPW and acceleration of electrons. It is observed that focusing of two laser beams in plasma increases for higher order of hollow Gaussian beams,which significantly enhanced the power of generated EPW and energy gain. The amplitude of EPW and energy gain by electrons is found to enhance with an increase in the intensity of laser beams and plasma density. This study will be useful to plasma beat wave accelerator and in other applications requiring multiple laser beams.     

Geological influence on the activity concentration of terrestrial radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in the Jos Plateau,Nigeria

The Jos Plateau has been reported to have elevated levels of natural background radiation. A few earlier studies have measured the levels of natural radioactivity for specific locations in the area. Our interest is to investigate how geology of the study area influences the activity concentrations of natural radionuclides. Thus, the activity concentrations of terrestrial radionuclides in soil samples collected across the geological formations of the Jos Plateau were determined by gamma spectrometry technique. The mean activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were found to exceed their corresponding world reference values of 35, 40 and 400?Bq?kg^?1, respectively. Data were compared using statistical methods, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc tests. The results revealed in some instances significant influences of geological types on the activity concentrations in the area. The spatial distribution maps of activity concentrations of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K were geostatistically interpolated by ordinary Kriging method using ArcGIS software.     

Thermodynamics phase transition and Hawking radiation of the Schwarzschild black hole with quintessence-like matter and a deficit solid angle

In this paper, we investigate the thermodynamics and Hawking radiation of Schwarzschild black hole with quintessence-like matter and deficit solid angle. From the metric of the black hole, we derive the expressions of temperature and specific heat using the laws of black hole thermodynamics. Using the null geodesics method and Parikh–Wilczeck tunneling method, we derive the expressions of Boltzmann factor and the change of Bekenstein–Hawking entropy for the black hole. The behaviors of the temperature, specific heat, Boltzmann factor and the change of Bekenstein entropy versus the deficit solid angle (\(\epsilon ^{2}\)) and the density of static spherically symmetric quintessence-like matter (\(\rho _{0}\)) were explicitly plotted. The results show that, when the deficit solid angle (\(\epsilon ^{2}\)) and the density of static spherically symmetric quintessence-like matter at \(r=1\) (\(\rho _{0}\)) vanish \((\rho _{0}=\epsilon =0)\), these four thermodynamics quantities are reduced to those obtained for the simple case of Schwarzschild black hole. For low entropies, the presence of quintessence-like matter induces a first order phase transition of the black hole and for the higher values of the entropies, we observe the second order phase transition. When increasing \(\rho _{0}\), the transition points are shifted to lower entropies. The same thing is observed when increasing \(\epsilon ^{2}\). In the absence of quintessence-like matter (\(\rho _{0}=0\)), these transition phenomena disappear. Moreover the rate of radiation decreases when increasing \(\rho _{0}\) or \((\epsilon ^2)\).     

Enzyme-free impedimetric glucose sensor based on gold nanoparticles/polyaniline composite film

A non-enzymatic impedimetric glucose sensor was fabricated based on the adsorption of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) onto conductive polyaniline (PANI)-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The modified electrode (GCE/PANI/GNPs) was characterized by using cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The determination of glucose concentration was based on the measurement of EIS with the mediation of electron transfer by ferricyanide ([Fe(CN)₆]^3?). The [Fe(CN)₆]^3? is reduced to ferrocyanide ([Fe(CN)₆]^4?), which in turn is oxidized at GCE/PANI/GNPs. An increase in the glucose concentration results in an increase in the diffusion current density of the [Fe(CN)₆]^4? oxidation, which corresponds to a decrease in the faradaic charge transfer resistance (R _ct). A wide linear concentration range from 0.3 to 10 mM with a lower detection limit of 0.1 mM for glucose was obtained. The proposed sensor shows high sensitivity, good reproducibility, and stability. In addition, the sensor exhibits no interference from common interfering substances such as ascorbic acid, acetaminophen, and uric acid.     

Solvent effects on the electronic absorption spectra and acid strength of some substituted pyridinols.

The electronic absorption spectra of some substituted pyridinols in organic solvents of different polarities are studied. Also, the solvent effects on the intramolecular charge transfer bands are discussed using various solvent parameters. The acid-base equilibria of the compounds used are studied spectrophotometrically in various mixed aqueous solvents at 25 degrees C and 0.1 M ionic strength (NaClO4). Furthermore, the influence of the solvents on the dissociation constants and tautomeric equilibria of a pyridinol derivatives are discussed. The effect of molecular structure of the pyridinols on the pK's is also examined.     

Preparation and evaluation of thermally stable nano-structured self-doped polythiophene coating for analysis of phthalate ester trace levels

Nano‐structured self‐doped polythiophene (SPT) electrodeposited in the presence of fluorinated organic acid was applied as a thermally stable conductive polymer‐based solid‐phase microextraction (SPME) fiber candidate. Quantitative determination of trace levels of phthalate esters including dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) was carried out using this novel fiber, coupling with gas chromatography‐flame ionization detector (GC‐FID). The SPT coating was proved to be stable at high temperatures (～350°C) with a high extraction capacity and long lifetime (more than 60 times). Improved temperature resistance was obtained by the presence of sulfonated groups in the backbone of polymer. Thermal stability of novel SPT was superior to common polythiophene (synthesized in LiClO₄). The extraction procedure was optimized by means of the Taguchi orthogonal array experimental design with an OA₁₆ (4⁵) matrix including extraction temperature, extraction time, salt concentration, stirring rate, and headspace volume. The good linearity was obtained for most compounds with correlation coefficients (R²) of between 0.993 and 0.995. The detection limits were lower than 0.12 ng/mL for dimethyl phthalate, DEP, dibutyl phthalate, and diethylhexyl phthalate. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of water samples with the recoveries from 90±1 to 107±1%.     

Spatial arrangement of carbon nanotubes in TiO2 photoelectrodes to enhance the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells

Three electrode structures with different spatial arrangements of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the mesoporous TiO(2) layer were employed in dye-sensitized solar cells to study the effect of surface states at the interface formed by the incorporation of CNTs. It was found that the decay of open circuit voltage (V(oc)) was significantly minimized by avoiding the direct contact of nanotubes to the conducting substrate by introducing a thin buffer layer of TiO(2) while maintaining the superior electron collection efficiency from the incorporation of nanotubes.     

Does shape matter? Bioeffects of gold nanomaterials in a human skin cell model

Gold nanomaterials (AuNMs) have distinctive electronic and optical properties, making them ideal candidates for biological, medical, and defense applications. Therefore, it is imperative to evaluate the potential biological impact of AuNMs before employing them in any application. This study investigates two AuNMs with different aspect ratios (AR) on mediation of biological responses in the human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) to model potential skin exposure to these AuNMs. The cellular responses were evaluated by cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, alteration in gene and protein expression, and inflammatory response. Gold nanospheres, nominally 20 nm in diameter and coated with mercaptopropane sulfonate (AuNS-MPS), formed agglomerates when dispersed in cell culture media, had a large fractal dimension (D(f) = 2.57 ± 0.4) (i.e., tightly bound and densely packed) and were found to be nontoxic even at the highest dose of 100 μg/mL. Highly uniform, 16.7 nm diameter, and 43.8 nm long polyethylene glycol-capped gold nanorods (AuNR-PEG) also formed agglomerates when dispersed into the cell culture media. However, the agglomerates had a smaller fractal dimension (D(f) = 1.28 ± 0.08) (i.e., loosely bound) and were found to be cytotoxic to the HaCaT cells, with a significant decrease in cell viability occurring at 25 μg/mL and higher. Moreover, AuNR-PEG caused significant ROS production and up-regulated several genes involved in cellular stress and toxicity. These results, combined with increased levels of inflammatory and apoptotic proteins, demonstrated that the AuNR-PEG induced apoptosis. Exposure to AuNS-MPS, however, did not show any of the detrimental effects observed from the AuNR-PEG. Therefore, we conclude that shape appears to play a key role in mediating the cellular response to AuNMs.     

Ag‐doped TiO2 enhanced photocatalytic oxidation of 1,2‐cyclohexanediol

The superiority of silver‐doped titania for photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) of organic compounds inspired us to investigate PCO of 1,2‐cyclohexanediol. Ag/TiO₂ was prepared, characterized (nanosize 19–24 nm) and used for oxidation of 1,2‐cyclohexanediol (1) in acetonitrile. The photolysate was analyzed using GC and GC/MS techniques. The PCO products are 2‐hydroxylcyclohexanone (2), 1,2‐cyclohexandione (3), 2‐cyclohexenone(4), cyclohexanone (5), and adipic acid (6).The formation of electron–hole pair at the surface of the catalyst followed by oxidation reactions was the suggested mechanism. Kinetic studies revealed first‐order mechanism for PCO of 1 and rate constant (k) = ?0.145 h^–1. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ultrasound assisted one-pot, three-components synthesis of pyrimido[1,2-a]benzimidazoles and pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridines: A new access via phenylsulfone synthon

A simple, facile, efficient and three-components procedure for the synthesis of pyrimido[1,2-a]benzimidazoles and pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridines utilizing phenylsulfone synthon, under ultrasonic irradiation was developed.