Dating of hot springs at Attri,Tarabalo and Athmalik sites in Odisha,India using radiocarbon technique

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - In this study environmental radioisotopes of water (3H and 14C) were used to determine the residence time of thermal waters. The temperature of...     

Photosensitizing potential of ciprofloxacin at ambient level of UV radiation

Ciprofloxacin is a widely used fluoroquinolone drug with broad spectrum antibacterial activities. Clinical experience has shown incidences of adverse effects related to skin, hepatic, central nervous system, gastrointestinal and phototoxicity. India is a tropical country and sunlight is abundant throughout the day. In this scenario exposure to ambient levels of ultraviolet radiation (UV-R) in sunlight may lead to harmful effects in ciprofloxacin users. Phototoxicity assessment of ciprofloxacin was studied by two mouse fibroblast cell lines L-929 and NIH-3T3. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) like singlet oxygen (1O2), superoxide anion radical (O2*-) and hydroxyl radical (*OH) was studied under the exposure of ambient intensities of UV-A (1.14, 1.6 and 2.2 mW cm(-2)), UV-B (0.6, 0.9 and 1.2 mW cm(-2)) and sunlight (60 min). The drug was generating 1O2, O2*- and *OH in a concentration and dose-dependent manner. Sodium azide (NaN3) and 1,4-diazabicyclo 2-2-2-octane (DABCO) inhibited the generation of 1O2. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) inhibited 90-95% O2*- generation. The drug (5-40 microg mL(-1)) was responsible for linoleic acid peroxidation. Quenching study of linoleic acid peroxidation with SOD (25 and 50 U mL(-1)) confirms the involvement of ROS in drug-induced lipid peroxidation. The generation of *OH radical was further confirmed by using specific quenchers of *OH such as mannitol (0.5 M) and sodium benzoate (0.5 M). 2'-deoxyguanosine (2'-dGuO) assay and linoleic acid peroxidation showed that ROS were mainly responsible for ciprofloxacin-sensitized photo-degradation of guanine base. L-929 cell line showed 29%, 34% and 54% reduced cell viability at higher drug concentration (300 microg mL(-1)) under UV-A, UV-B and sunlight, respectively. 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay in NIH-3T3 cell line at higher drug concentration (300 microg mL(-1)) showed a decrease in cell viability by 54%, 56% and 59% under UV-A, UV-B and sunlight, respectively. Results of neutral red uptake assay (NRU) in L-929 cell line were in accordance with MTT assay. The NIH-3T3 cell line showed a higher photosensitizing potential than L-929. The phototoxicity end point shows a time- and concentration-dependent statistically significant (P<0.001) damage. Ciprofloxacin produced ROS by Type I and Type II photodynamic reactions, interacted with nucleic acid moiety and inhibited cell viability. Further, UV-induced photo-peroxidation of linoleic acid accorded the involvement of ROS in the manifestation of drug phototoxicity. Appearance of ciprofloxacin-induced phototoxicity at the ambient level of sunlight is a real risk for the people of India and for those of other tropical countries. We suggest that sunlight exposure should be avoided (especially peak hours) during ciprofloxacin treatment.     

Cavity enhanced stimulated Brillouin scattering in an optical chip for multiorder Stokes generation

We report the first demonstration of on-chip cascaded stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). Cascaded SBS is characterized in a 4 cm long chalcogenide (As?S?) rib waveguide where the end facet reflections provide a monolithic Fabry-Perot (FP) resonator. The presence of the FP cavity reduces the Brillouin gain threshold, which enables observation of cascaded SBS at reduced pump powers. We observe up to three orders of Stokes waves in the backscattered signal at a coupled peak power of 1.34 W. Anti-Stokes waves due to four-wave mixing between the pump and the Stokes wave were observed in the forward spectrum.     

Fluorescence studies of some protonated cinchona alkaloids in polymers

In the present paper we report spectral and photophysical properties of two probes viz. cinchonidine and quinidine in two different polymers viz. polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). The emission spectra exhibit edge excitation red shift (EERS) for both the probes and multiexponential decays are observed. Presence of various conformers and geometries is suggested to explain the observed results. The photophysical properties and excited state behavior of Cd++ are more sensitive towards the microenvironment of the polymer.     

Solid phase extraction and determination of metal ions in aqueous samples using Quercetin modified Amberlite XAD-16 chelating polymer as metal extractant

A new chelating polymer has been developed using Amberlite XAD-16 anchored with Quercetin. The modified polymer was characterised by Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, surface area analysis and elemental analysis. The Quercetin anchored polymer showed superior binding affinity for Cr(III), Mn(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) with greater than 95% adsorption under optimum conditions. The optimum pH conditions for the quantitative sorption of metal ions were studied. The developed method showed superior extraction qualities with high metal loading capacities of 387, 313, 195, 473, 210 and 320 µmol g^?1 for Cu(II), Co(II), Cr(III), Fe(III), Mn(II) and Ni(II), respectively. The rate of metal ion uptake i.e. kinetics studies performed under optimum levels, showed t _1/2 for Co(II), Cu(II), Cr(III), Fe(III), Mn(II) and Ni(II) is 20, 15, 25, 10, 30 and 15 min, respectively. Desorption of metal ions was effective with 10 mL of 2 M HCl prior to analysis using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The chelating polymer was highly ion selective in nature even in the presence of interferent ions, with a high preconcentrating ability for the metal ions of interest. The developed chelating polymer was tested on its utility with synthetic and real samples like river, tap water samples and also with multivitamin tablets. It showed relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) values of/less than 3.0% reflecting on the accuracy and reproducibility of data using the newly developed chelating polymer.     

Synthesis, antiamoebic activity and thermal study of copper complexes of 1-formyl-2-pyrazolines

Copper complexes of 1-formyl-2-pyrazolines were prepared by the reaction of 1-formyl-2-pyrazolines with copper chloride and nitrate with methanol. The structures of copper complexes 1a–3a have been established by elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV and thermogravimetric analysis. These compounds were tested against HM1:IMSS strain of Entamoeba histolytica by the microdilution method. Complexes 2a and 3a are more active than other complexes.     

LES/PDF Modeling of Turbulent Premixed Flames with Locally Enhanced Mixing by Reaction

Large-eddy simulations (LES) combined with the transported probability density function (PDF) method are carried out for two turbulent piloted premixed methane-air jet flames (flame F1 and flame F3) to assess the capability of LES/PDF for turbulent premixed combustion. The conventionally used model for the sub-filter scale mixing time-scale (or the mixing frequency) fails to capture the premixed flames correctly. This failure is expected to be caused by the lack of the sub-filter scale premixed flame propagation property in the sub-filter scale mixing process when the local flame front is under-resolved. It leads to slower turbulent premixed flame propagation and wider flame front. A new model for specifying the sub-filter scale mixing frequency is developed to account for the effect of sub-filter scale chemical reaction on mixing, based on past development of models for the sub-filter scale scalar dissipation rate in premixed combustion. The new model is assessed in the two turbulent premixed jet flames F1 and F3. Parametric studies are performed to examine the new model and its sensitivity when combined with the different mixing models. Significantly improved performance of the new mixing frequency model is observed to capture the premixed flame propagation reasonably, when compared with the conventional model. The sensitivity of the flame predictions is found be relatively weak to the different mixing models in conjunction with the new mixing frequency model.