222Rn measurements in drinking water and annual effective dose for the adult population around a coal-based and atomic power plant in Uttar Pradesh,India

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Dissolved radon (222Rn) in drinking water has been measured using SMART RnDuo, a continuous radon monitor. Water samples have been collected from...     

Changes in the physical properties of low bandgap polymer after interaction with ionic liquids

Over the past few years, polymers shown comprehensive utilization in optical devices, solar cells, sensors, and other such devices. However, the efficiency of these devices remains a problem. We have synthesized new thiophene based, lowband gap polymer, poly(2-heptadecyl-4-vinylthieno[3,4-d] [1,3] selenazole) (PHVTS) and investigated the interactions between the PHVTS and ionic liquids (ILs), in this study. We have used imidazolium- and ammonium-family ILs, and studied the interactions using various spectroscopic techniques such UV–visible, FTIR, and confocal Raman spectroscopies. Additionally, we studied surface morphology of the polymer-IL film. Spectroscopic studies show that both families of ILs can interact with the newly synthesized polymer poly(2-heptadecyl-4-vinylthieno[3,4-d] [1,3] selenazole). However, the imidazolium-family Ionic Liquid-polymer (IL-polymer) mixture films show higher conductivities than ammonium-family IL–polymer mixture films.     

Greener approach toward synthesis of biologically active s-Triazine (TCT) derivatives: A recent update

The greener methodology to synthesize s-triazine derivatives (also known as TCT) is described, including synthesis through microwave, ultrasound, and solvent-free conditions. This review mainly focuses on reactions of TCT (2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine) with various substituents having amine and hydroxy functionalities to give corresponding triazine derivatives under a greener approach. The results of reactions indicate that, unlike classical methods, green methods result in better yields of the product, through a rapid reaction, under mild reaction conditions, and by easy workup procedures.     

Square Planar Platinum(II) Complexes with N,S-Donor Ligands: Synthesis,Characterisation, DNA Interaction and Cytotoxic Activity

The platinum(II) complexes with N,S-donor ligand have been synthesised and characterised by physiological techniques like elemental, electronic, Fourier transform infrared, hydrogen-1 nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry spectra. The synthesised complexes have been checked for their DNA binding ability by absorption titration and viscosity measurement, and the results show that the complexes binds to herring sperm DNA (HS DNA) via covalent mode of binding. The DNA cleavage activity of synthesised complexes has been carried out by gel electrophoresis experiment using supercoiled form of pUC19 DNA, showing the unwinding of the negatively charged supercoiled DNA. Brine shrimp (Artemia cysts) lethality bioassay technique has been applied for the determination of toxic property of synthesised complexes in terms of micromolars.     

Selective Interactions of O-Methylated Flavonoid Natural Products with Human Monoamine Oxidase-A and -B

A set of structurally related O-methylated flavonoid natural products isolated from Senecio roseiflorus (1), Polygonum senegalense (2 and 3), Bhaphia macrocalyx (4), Gardenia ternifolia (5), and Psiadia punctulata (6) plant species were characterized for their interaction with human monoamine oxidases (MAO-A and -B) in vitro. Compounds 1, 2, and 5 showed selective inhibition of MAO-A, while 4 and 6 showed selective inhibition of MAO-B. Compound 3 showed ~2-fold selectivity towards inhibition of MAO-A. Binding of compounds 1–3 and 5 with MAO-A, and compounds 3 and 6 with MAO-B was reversible and not time-independent. The analysis of enzyme-inhibition kinetics suggested a reversible-competitive mechanism for inhibition of MAO-A by 1 and 3, while a partially-reversible mixed-type inhibition by 5. Similarly, enzyme inhibition-kinetics analysis with compounds 3, 4, and 6, suggested a competitive reversible inhibition of MAO-B. The molecular docking study suggested that 1 selectively interacts with the active-site of human MAO-A near N5 of FAD. The calculated binding free energies of the O-methylated flavonoids (1 and 4–6) and chalcones (2 and 3) to MAO-A matched closely with the trend in the experimental IC_50′s. Analysis of the binding free-energies suggested better interaction of 4 and 6 with MAO-B than with MAO-A. The natural O-methylated flavonoid (1) with highly potent inhibition (IC₅₀ 33 nM; Ki 37.9 nM) and >292 fold selectivity against human MAO-A (vs. MAO-B) provides a new drug lead for the treatment of neurological disorders.     

Quantum effects in a homogeneous dust cloud collapse

The status of a classical space-time singularity, when quantum effects are taken into account, has remained a matter of intense interest ever since the epochmaking paper of DeWitt [1] on quantum gravity. We examine here the evolution of quantum fluctuations in the vicinity of the singularity arising out of the classical collapse of a homogeneous dust cloud. As opposed to the pathintegral method used to quantize the conformal degree of freedom (see, e.g., [3] or [4]), we use here the traditional operator approach to the quantum theory which is much more direct and appealing while achieving an additional generalization that the wave function of the system is assumed to have a completely general form. It is shown that the quantum uncertainty diverges in the limit of approach to the classically singular epoch and that nonsingular, nonclassical states can occur with finite probability.     

The dynamical mixing of light and pseudoscalar fields

We solve the general problem of mixing of electromagnetic and scalar or pseudoscalar fields coupled by axion-type interactions L _int = g _ϕ ϕε _μναβ F ^μν F ^αβ . The problem depends on several dimensionful scales, including the magnitude and direction of background magnetic field, the pseudoscalar mass, plasma frequency, propagation frequency, wave number, and finally the pseudoscalar coupling. We apply the results to the first consistent calculations of the mixing of light propagating in a background magnetic field of varying directions, which show a great variety of fascinating resonant and polarization effects.      

Nonequilibrium quantum impurities: from entropy production to information theory

Nonequilibrium steady-state currents, unlike their equilibrium counterparts, continuously dissipate energy into their physical surroundings leading to entropy production and time-reversal symmetry breaking. This Letter discusses these issues in the context of quantum impurity models. We use simple thermodynamic arguments to define the rate of entropy production sigma and show that sigma has a simple information-theoretic interpretation in terms of nonequilibrium distribution functions. This allows us to show that the entropy production is strictly positive for any nonequilibrium steady state. We conclude by applying these ideas to the resonance level model and the Kondo model.     

Direct Hydrogenation of Nitroaromatics at Room Temperature Catalyzed by Magnetically Recoverable Cu@Fe2O3 Nanoparticles

Metal embedded in metal oxide nanoparticles are active as catalyst in plethora of industrially important reactions. Herein, embedded Cu@Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles was synthesized via a one step hydrothermal strategy which selectively catalyzes the hydrogenation of diverse nitroaromatics in H₂O at room temperature. The remarkable catalytic performance is due to the successful hybridization of metallic Cu and Fe₂O₃ which in turn allows easy electroflipping between various oxidation states of Cu and Fe. Azo- and azoxy-compounds are not formed during the catalyzed process. This evidently establish that the hydrogenation of nitroaromatics proceeds via direct route with >99% selectivity to the corresponding anilines.     

Chirped pulse amplification in single mode Tm:fiber using a chirped Bragg grating

We report femtosecond pulse generation and chirped pulse amplification in Tm:fiber. A mode-locked oscillator operating in the soliton regime produced 800 fs pulses with 5 nm spectral bandwidth, at 40 pJ pulse energy. This oscillator seeded a pre-amplifier that utilizes a Raman soliton self-frequency shift to produce wavelength tunable pulses with 3 nJ energy, reduced pulse duration of 150 fs, and increased bandwidth of 30 nm. For further amplification, the pulses were stretched up to 160 ps using a chirped Bragg grating (CBG). Stretched pulses were amplified to 85 nJ after compression in single-mode Tm:fiber and recompressed with the CBG as short as 400 fs. Compressed pulses were coupled into a highly nonlinear tellurite fiber to investigate the potential of this ultrashort pulse 2-μm fiber source as a pump for mid-IR supercontinuum generation.