Anisotropic Inflationary Scenario Via Generalized Chaplygin Gas Model

We investigate generalized chaplygin gas for warm inflationary scenario in the context of locally rotationally symmetric Bianchi type I universe model.We assume two different cases of dissipative coefficient,i.e.,constant as well as function of scalar field.We construct dynamical equations as well as a relationship between scalar and radiation energy densities under slow-roll approximation.We also derive slow-roll parameters,scalar and tensor power spectra,scalar spectral index,tensor to scalar ratio for analyzing inflationary background during high dissipative regime.We also use the WMAP7 data for the discussion of our parameters.     

The radiation shielding offered by the commercial glass installed in Bangladeshi dwellings

One sign of a vibrant Bangladeshi economy has been the move away from the use of more traditional housing materials towards a preference for modern constructional media. Glass, one such example, used both decoratively and in a structural context, offers various advantageous properties and facets including a protective feature against radiation that has not previously been considered. Current interest examines the dosimetric possibilities offered by the commercial glass as a secondary shield and also in retrospective ionising radiation exposure analysis. Four popular brands of window glass are investigated, all available within the local market (PHP-Bangladesh, Usmania-Bangladesh, Nasir-Bangladesh and Rider-China), all with the same thickness and colour, varying in terms of elemental weight fractions as evaluated by energy dispersive X-ray analysis. As potential attenuators of transmitted radiation thereby forming secondary barriers against radiation exposure from penetrating radiations, the four brands of glass have been studied using photon energies from 59 up to 1332 keV, a range of values representative of that potentially encountered in incidents. Use has been made of a well-shielded high-purity germanium γ-ray spectrometer and associated electronics, providing for evaluation of the characteristic barrier parameters of half-value layer, radiation protection efficiency and effective atomic number (Z_eff). Of the four brands investigated, Rider provides superior secondary shielding performance. Concerning potential retrospective dosimetry the effective atomic number of the glass samples are comparable with that of the commercial thermoluminescence (TL) dosimeter TLD-200. At high doses, the TL yields are sufficient to provide for retrospective accident dosimetry.     

Study of reduction processes over cerium oxide surfaces with atomic hydrogen using ultra accelerated quantum chemical molecular dynamics

Ceria plays an important role in catalysis, due to its ability to store and release oxygen depending on the condition present in the catalyst environment. To analyze the role of ceria in catalytic reactions, it is necessary to know the details of the interaction of ceria surface with environmentally sensitive molecules. This study was conducted using ultra accelerated quantum chemical molecular dynamics. Its purpose was to investigate the reduction process of the (1 1 1) and (1 1 0) surfaces of ceria with atomic hydrogen as well as water desorption mechanisms from the surfaces. This simulation demonstrated that when a high-energy colliding hydrogen atoms are adsorbed on the ceria, it pulls up an O atom from the ceria surfaces and results in the formation of a H₂O molecule. This is the first dynamics simulation related to such reduction processes based on quantum chemistry.     

Characteristics of electron beam evaporated nanocrystalline SnO2 thin films annealed in air

Tin oxide (SnO₂) thin films (about 200 nm thick) have been deposited by electron beam evaporation followed by annealing in air at 350-550 °C for two hours. Optical, electrical and structural properties were studied as a function of annealing temperature. The as-deposited film is amorphous, while all other annealed films are crystalline (having tetragonal structure). XRD suggest that the films are composed of nanoparticles of 5-10 nm. Raman analysis and optical measurements suggest quantum confinement effects that are enhanced with annealing temperature. For instance, Raman peaks of the as-deposited films are blue-shifted as compared to those for bulk SnO₂. Blue shift becomes more pronounced with annealing temperature. Optical band gap energy of amorphous SnO₂ film is 3.61 eV, which increases to about 4.22 eV after crystallization. Two orders of magnitude decrease in resistivity is observed after annealing at 350-400 °C due to structural ordering and crystallization. The resistivity, however, increases slightly with annealing temperature above 400 °C, possibly due to improvement in stoichiometry and associated decrease in charge carrier density.     

Low operating temperature of oxygen gas sensor based on undoped and Cr-doped ZnO films

Undoped and doped ZnO with 1 at.% (atomic percentage) chromium (Cr) was synthesized by RF reactive co-sputtering for oxygen gas sensing applications. The prepared films showed a highly c-oriented phase with a dominant (0 0 2) peak at a Bragg angle of around 34.2°. The operating temperature of the prepared ZnO sensor was around 350 °C and shifted to around 250 °C for the doped ZnO sensor which is lower than that of previously reported work. The sensitivity of the sensor toward oxygen gas was enhanced by doping ZnO with 1 at.% Cr. Good stability and repeatability of the sensor were demonstrated when tested under different concentration of oxygen atmosphere.     

A Review on Effects of Lubricant Formulations on Tribological Performance and Boundary Lubrication Mechanisms of Non-Doped DLC/DLC Contacts

Tribological efficiency of industrial applications involving boundary lubrication regime can be improved to an appreciable extent by the deposition of hard coatings on interacting surfaces. Among such coatings, diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings are considered to be one of the most suitable ones for the said role. DLC coatings possess a unique combination of physical, chemical, and material properties due to which they can help in minimizing friction-induced energy and material losses even under starved lubrication conditions. Since commercial lubricants are optimized for steel surfaces, therefore, a lot of experimental investigations were carried out to analyze the tribological compatibility of these lubricants with various DLC coatings. However, there is still a lack of understanding about how DLC coatings interact with conventional lubricant additives. Some researchers reported tribologically beneficial interactions between DLC coatings and formulated lubricants while others observed no such behavior. To address these inconsistencies, there is a need to rearrange the published data in a more apprehensible and organized manner with a special emphasis on the mechanisms responsible for a particular tribological behavior. In this way, it can be determined whether synergistic or antagonistic correlation exists between a particular DLC-lubricant combination and research on DLC coatings can be continued in a logical way. In this article, most widely investigated non-doped DLC coatings (ta-C, a-C:H, a-C, and ta-C:H) are tribologically analyzed. Average values of friction and wear coefficients are calculated for various DLC-lubricant combinations using already published data and compared to quantify the effectiveness of a particular lubricant additive in enhancing tribological characteristics of symmetrical non-doped DLC contacts. Moreover, tribological performance parameters of non-doped DLC coatings are compared with those of doped-DLC coatings to understand differences in their tribological behavior in combination with additives.     

Chitosan loaded with silver nanoparticles,CS‐AgNPs,using thymus syriacus,wild mint,and rosemary essential oil extracts as reducing and capping agents

The present study describes the green method for the preparation of chitosan loaded with silver nanoparticles (CS‐AgNPs) in the presence of 3 different extracted essential oils. The essential oils play dual roles as reductant and capping agents. The reducing power and DPPH (2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl) assay for the 3 essential oils—Thymus syriacus (T), wild mint (M), and rosemary (R)—have been reported. The preparation of CS‐AgNPs was performed by 2 steps. The 3 previously extracted essential oils have been used as reducing and capping agent in the first step, while in the second step, silver nanoparticles were integrated in chitosan. The integration of AgNPs in the structure of chitosan was confirmed by ultraviolet‐visible, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy techniques, and energy dispersive X‐ray. Surface plasmon resonance confirmed the formation of CS‐AgNPs with maximum absorbance at λ_max between 405 ‐ 410 and 410 ‐ 430 nm for colloidal and films of CS‐AgNPs, respectively. The intensity of bands at 3408 cm^?1 in the fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements was decreased substantially and shifted slightly to lower frequency (?υ = 43 cm^?1). Scanning electron microscopy shows a spherical morphology of AgNPs with size of 62 nm for both colloidal and film samples, and energy dispersive X‐ray analysis shows peaks confirming AgNPs formation.     

A Novel Implementation Technique of Conical Scan Radar Using A Programmable Phased Array

In radar, planar phased array antenna plays vital role in electronic scanning in the azimuth and elevation direction to the horizon. In most operations using planar phased array both the coordinates of azimuth and elevation, are steered electronically. In this paper a conceptual schematic of a phased array antenna with programmable time delay units has been presented. It is shown that by suitably exploiting the time delay matrix one can have electronic beam rotation around the target axis as required in conical scan. Thus both the elevation and azimuth motors in conical scan system are replaced by electronic scanning. Heuristically, we have selected eight consecutive points for beam rotation in a polygon shape and can also be extended almost circular shape by increasing number of array elements and phase shifter (delays) in the delay matrix. The array requires dual control of phase gradient and individual phase values. The whole array is controlled by micro-controller. This presents exciting possibilities in radar operation.     

Transfer of radioactivity from soil to vegetation in Rechna Doab,Pakistan

In Rechna Doab, samples of the most common vegetation, perennial grass Desmostachya bipinnata (dab), were collected along with soil samples from 29 sites. Natural radioactivity of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th/²²⁸Ac and ⁴⁰K was measured by using high purity germanium-based gamma ray spectrometer. Activity concentration levels of ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th/²²⁸Ac and ⁴⁰K in soil were found to be 46.8±6.2 (36.0–57.6), 61.4±5.9 (48.2–73.2) and 644.8±73.9 (537.7–868.4) Bq kg^?1 (dry mass), respectively, and those in vegetation were 2.74±1.70 (1.00–6.39), 2.24±0.59 (1.56–2.61) and 172.72±113.37 (53.14–469.24) Bq kg^?1 (dry mass), respectively. The measured values of the activity concentration in vegetation are comparable with some other international data. Calculated soil to vegetation transfer factors of ²²⁶Ra, ²²⁸Ac and ⁴⁰K were 0.06±0.03 (0.02–0.14), 0.04±0.01 (0.03–0.04) and 0.26±0.16 (0.09–0.69). The mean outdoor absorbed dose rate in air for the area under study was determined as 8.22 nGy h^?1 and the mean indoor absorbed dose rate in air was 11.52 nGy h^?1. The total annual effective dose to the general public from the vegetation was found to be (0.02–0.16) mSv, which is below the recommended limit value of 1 mSv y^?1 for the general public. The dab vegetation under study was found to be radiologically safe for the population and environment.