Effect of dopants on TL characteristics of LiF:Mg,Cu,P detectors

LiF:Mg,Cu,P detectors produced at the Institute of Nuclear Physics in Krakow have shown very good dosimetric characteristics. Understanding of the effect of the concentration and type of dopants is important in the characterization of TL materials. The aim of work was to investigate the influence of the type and concentration of the dopants on the photon energy response of these detectors by irradiations “in air” and on the ISO water phantom in the range of mean photon energies between 33 and 164 keV. The influence of dopants on the glow curves, sensitivity and reproducibility was also examined. Results showed that measured energy dependence values are lower compared to the theoretical values both “in air” and on phantom. The type and concentration of the dopants influence the shape of the glow curves and sensitivity while for energy dependence is more important the presence of certain activators, namely copper.     

Extraction of trivalent iron in the ionic and colloidal states with Di-n-butylphosphoric acid

The extraction of trivalent iron in the ionic and colloidal states from diluted nitric acid solutions with di-n-butylphosphoric acid in cyclohexane has been studied. Depending on the concentration of di-n-butylphosphoric and nitric acid, the ionic and colloidal trivalent iron can be distributed between the solvent, aqueous phase and solvent-aqueous interface.     

Synthesis of Aliphatic Esters of Cinnamic Acid as Potential Lipophilic Antioxidants Catalyzed by Lipase B from Candida antarctica

Immobilized lipase from Candida antarctica (Novozyme 435) was tested for the synthesis of various phenolic acid esters (ethyl and n-butyl cinnamate, ethyl p-coumarate and n-butyl p-methoxycinnamate). The second-order kinetic model was used to mathematically describe the reaction kinetics and to compare present processes quantitatively. It was found that the model agreed well with the experimental data. Further, the effect of alcohol type on the esterification of cinnamic acid was investigated. The immobilized lipase showed more ability to catalyze the synthesis of butyl cinnamate. Therefore, the process was optimized for the synthesis of butyl cinnamate as a function of solvent polarity (logP) and amount of biocatalyst. The highest ester yield of 60.7 % was obtained for the highest enzyme concentration tested (3 % w/w), but the productivity was for 34 % lower than the corresponding value obtained for the enzyme concentration of 1 % (w/w). The synthesized esters were purified, identified, and screened for antioxidant activities. Both DPPH assay and cyclic voltammetry measurement have shown that cinnamic acid esters have better antioxidant properties than cinnamic acid itself.     

Adsorption of a flexible self-avoiding polymer chain: Exact results on fractal lattices

The large-scale behavior of surface-interacting self-avoiding polymer chains placed on finitely ramified fractal lattices is studied using exact recursion relations. It is shown how to obtain surface susceptibility critical indices and how to modify a scaling relation for these indices in the case of fractal lattices. We present the exact results for critical exponents at the point of adsorption transition for polymer chains situated on a class of Sierpinski gasket-type fractals. We provide numerical evidence for a critical behavior of the type found recently in the case of bulk self-avoiding random walks at the fractal to Euclidean crossover.     

Improved Covalent Immobilization of Horseradish Peroxidase on Macroporous Glycidyl Methacrylate-Based Copolymers

A macroporous copolymer of glycidyl methacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, poly(GMA-co-EGDMA), with various surface characteristics and mean pore size diameters ranging from 44 to 200 nm was synthesized, modified with 1,2-diaminoethane, and tested as a carrier for immobilization of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) by two covalent methods, glutaraldehyde and periodate. The highest specific activity of around 35 U g^?1 dry weight of carrier was achieved on poly(GMA-co-EGDMA) copolymers with mean pore diameters of 200 and 120 nm by the periodate method. A study of deactivation kinetics at 65 °C and in 80 % dioxane revealed that periodate immobilization also produced an appreciable stabilization of the biocatalyst, while stabilization factor depended strongly on the surface characteristics of the copolymers. HRP immobilized on copolymer with a mean pore diameter of 120 nm by periodate method showing not only the highest specific activity but also good stability was further characterized. It appeared that the immobilization resulted in the stabilization of enzyme over a broader pH range while the Michaelis constant value (K _m) of the immobilized HRP was 10.8 mM, approximately 5.6 times higher than that of the free enzyme. After 6 cycles of repeated use in a batch reactor for pyrogallol oxidation, the immobilized HRP retained 45 % of its original activity.     

Macroscopic ground-state degeneracy and magnetocaloric effect in the exactly solvable spin-1/2 Ising–Heisenberg double-tetrahedral chain

The ground-state degeneracy and magnetocaloric effect in the spin-1/2 Ising–Heisenberg double-tetrahedral chain are exactly investigated. It is demonstrated that the zero-temperature phase diagram involves two classical and two quantum chiral phases with distinct degrees of the macroscopic degeneracy. Different macroscopic degeneracies observed in the latter phases and at individual ground-state phase transitions are confirmed by multiple-peak dependencies of the specific heat and entropy on the magnetic field. The cooling capability of the model is well illustrated by the magnetic-field variations of the isothermal entropy change, temperature isotherms and the magnetic Grüneisen parameter.     

On some additional effects in Heisenberg ferromagnet caused by the presence of dipole-dipole interactions

The Heisenberg ferromagnet with dipole-dipole interactions was studied. It was shown that the presence of dipole-dipole interactions changes the direction of the quantization axis, gives the anharmonical correction to the low temperature magnetization proportional to the square of the temperature, increases the critical point and leads to a fusion process of elementary excitations. All the results obtained are valid only in the presence of an external magnetic field. The absence of the field requires a qualitatively new approach.     

Determination of the D2O Content in Water by Infrared Spectrometry

A method for determining deuterium oxide content in the concentration range of 1 to 100% with a precision of 1 to 0.1 percentage unit is described. Measurements were made with a glass cell 0.6 mm thick using the infrared spectrum region from 4000 to 4400 cm^?1. It was found that glass windows can be also used for absorption cells in the range between 2300 and 3800 cm^?1 in which very intense OD and OH bands appear.     

Assessment of radiation risk and radon exhalation rate for granite used in the construction industry

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The results of the gamma spectrometry analysis of the 40 samples of highly radioactive granites used in the construction industry in Serbia are...     

Adding Value to the Oil Cake as a Waste from Oil Processing Industry: Production of Lipase and Protease by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Candida utilis</Emphasis> in Solid State Fermentation

Olive oil cake is a by-product from the olive oil processing industry and can be used for the lipase and protease production by Candida utilis in solid state fermentation. Different carbon and nitrogen sources were evaluated, and the results showed that the supplementation of the substrate with maltose and starch as carbon sources and yeast extract as a nitrogen source significantly increased the lipase production. The best results were obtained with maltose, whereas rather low lipase and protease activities were found with glucose and oleic acid. Response surface methodology and a five-level–three-factor central composite rotatable design were used to evaluate the effects of the initial moisture content, inoculum size and fermentation time on both lipase and protease activity levels. A lipase activity value of ≈25 U g^-1 and a protease activity value of 110 U g^-1 were obtained under the optimized fermentation conditions. An alkaline treatment of the substrate appeared to be efficient, leading to increases of 39% and 133% in the lipase and protease production, respectively. The results showed that the olive cake could be a good source for enzyme production by solid state fermentation.