Mass yields in 229Th(n,f)

Cumulative yields of 27 fission products have been determined in ²²⁹Th(n,f) by recoil catcher technique followed by gamma-ray spectrometry. Absolute fission yields were arrived at from the fission rate measured by track etch counting method. Mass yields were obtained from the cumulative yields using the charge distribution parameters reported in the literature. The values agree well with the reported values obtained both by physical and radiochemical methods. The resulting asymmetric mass distribution shows strong fluctuation in the yields in the light and heavy wings with a periodicity of five mass units.     

Frequency‐dependent conductivity of interpenetrating polymer network composites of polypyrrole–poly(vinyl acetate)

The frequency‐dependent conductivity of interpenetrating polymer network composites of polypyrrole (PPy) and poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) synthesized by FeCl₃‐impregnated PVAc films being dipped into solutions of pyrrole in water was investigated over a frequency range of 100 Hz to 2 MHz and a temperature range of 110–300 K. For specimens with a PPy content less than the percolation threshold, the quantum mechanical tunneling of electrons was the conduction mechanism. For specimens with a higher PPy content, correlated barrier hopping of electrons appeared to be operative. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 39: 1935–1941, 2001     

Identification of Putative Vaccine and Drug Targets against the Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus by Reverse Vaccinology and Subtractive Genomics Approaches

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an opportunistic pathogen and responsible for causing life-threatening infections. The emergence of hypervirulent and multidrug-resistant (MDR) S. aureus strains led to challenging issues in antibiotic therapy. Consequently, the morbidity and mortality rates caused by S. aureus infections have a substantial impact on health concerns. The current worldwide prevalence of MRSA infections highlights the need for long-lasting preventive measures and strategies. Unfortunately, effective measures are limited. In this study, we focus on the identification of vaccine candidates and drug target proteins against the 16 strains of MRSA using reverse vaccinology and subtractive genomics approaches. Using the reverse vaccinology approach, 4 putative antigenic proteins were identified; among these, PrsA and EssA proteins were found to be more promising vaccine candidates. We applied a molecular docking approach of selected 8 drug target proteins with the drug-like molecules, revealing that the ZINC4235426 as potential drug molecule with favorable interactions with the target active site residues of 5 drug target proteins viz., biotin protein ligase, HPr kinase/phosphorylase, thymidylate kinase, UDP-N-acetylmuramoyl-L-alanyl-D-glutamate-L-lysine ligase, and pantothenate synthetase. Thus, the identified proteins can be used for further rational drug or vaccine design to identify novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of multidrug-resistant staphylococcal infection.     

Coherent structures in presence of dust charge fluctuations

This paper shows the formation of nonlinear coherent structures in a dusty plasma in presence of dust charge fluctuations. Using the typical plasma parameters the potential of the nonlinear coherent structures is derived.     

A self-consistent kinetic modeling of a 1-D, bounded, plasma in equilibrium

A self-consistent kinetic treatment is presented here, where the Boltzmann equation is solved for a particle conserving Krook collision operator. The resulting equations have been implemented numerically. The treatment solves for the entire quasineutral column, making no assumptions about λ_mfp/L, where λ_mfp is the ion-neutral collision mean free path and L the size of the device. Coulomb collisions are neglected in favour of collisions with neutrals, and the particle source is modeled as a uniform Maxwellian. Electrons are treated as an inertialess but collisional fluid. The ion distribution function for the trapped and the transiting orbits is obtained. Interesting findings include the anomalous heating of ions as they approach the presheath, the development of strongly non-maxwellian features near the last λ_mfp, and strong modifications of the sheath criterion.     

Towards using molecular ions as qubits: Femtosecond control of molecular fragmentation with multiple knobs

Non-resonant molecular fragmentation of n-propyl benzene with femtosecond laser pulses is dependent on the phase and polarization characteristics of the laser. We find that the effect of the chirp and polarization of the femtosecond pulse when applied simultaneously is mutually independent of each other, which makes chirp and polarization as useful ‘logic’ implementing knobs.     

Study of field emission and dielectric properties of AlN films prepared by DC sputtering technique at different substrate temperatures

Nanocrystalline AlN thin films were prepared via DC sputtering technique at different substrate temperature. The crystal orientation and particle size of aluminum nitride thin films were investigated by XRD analysis. Study indicated that the sample contained pure phase hexagonal AlN nanoparticles with a single peak corresponding to the (100) planes. The peak at 665 cm⁻¹ in the FTIR spectrum of film was assigned to the LO phonon of hexagonal AlN. The particle size of the film, prepared at substrate temperature 200°C was about 9.5 nm, as investigated by atomic force microscope. Field emission study indicated that it can be used as a good field emitter. Turn-on field (E_to) of 15.02 V/μm was observed for the AlN films synthesized at substrate temperature 200°C. Dielectric constant of the AlN film was found nearly independent of frequencies in the measured frequency range 1 KHz to 1 MHz, i.e. in the audio frequency range. The values of dielectric constant (ε) were 10.07, 9.46 and 8.65 for the film prepared at 70°C, 150°C and 200°C, respectively, at frequency 1 KHz.     

On equivariant embedding of Hilbert <Emphasis Type="Italic">C</Emphasis>* modules

We prove that an arbitrary (not necessarily countably generated) Hilbert G - module on a G - C ^* algebra admits an equivariant embedding into a trivial G - module, provided G is a compact Lie group and its action on is ergodic.