Design and performance evaluation of SDD based X-ray spectrometer for future planetary exploration

Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) based X-ray spectrometer has been developed for obtaining the elemental composition of unknown samples by detecting fluorescent X-rays in the energy region 1–25 keV by a non-destructive process. The use of new technology X-ray detector provides good energy resolution for detecting the elements separated with ～150 eV apart. Here we present the design of a complete X-ray spectrometer intended for use in the future space-born experiment. The low energy threshold of <1 keV and the energy resolution of ～150 eV at 5.9 keV, as measured from the system is comparable to the standard spectrometers available off-the-shelf. We evaluated the system performance for different signal peaking time, as well as for different input count rates and show that the performance remains stable for incident count rate up to 20,000 counts per second. We have also carried out a ‘proof of concept’ experiment of measuring fluorescent X-ray spectrum from various standard XRF samples from the USGS catalog irradiated by the laboratory X-ray source ²⁴¹Am with 1 mCi activity. It is shown that intensities of various characteristic X-ray lines are well correlated with the respective elemental concentrations. A specific effort has been made while designing the developed X-ray spectrometer to use electronic components which are available in space grade so that the same electronic design can be used in the upcoming planetary missions with appropriate mechanical packaging.     

ESG score prediction through random forest algorithm

Computational Management Science - Environment-related risks affect assets in various sectors of the global economy, as well as social and governance aspects, giving birth to what is known as ESG...     

Elastic Waves in Swelling Porous Media

Time harmonic waves in a swelling porous elastic medium of infinite extent and consisting of solid, liquid and gas phases have been studied. Employing Eringen’s theory of swelling porous media, it has been shown that there exist three dilatational and two shear waves propagating with distinct velocities. The velocities of these waves are found to be frequency dependent and complex valued, showing that the waves are attenuating in nature. Here, the appearance of an additional shear wave is new and arises due to swelling phenomena of the medium, which disappears in the absence of swelling. The reflection phenomenon of an incident dilatational wave from a stress-free plane boundary of a porous elastic half-space has been investigated for two types of boundary surfaces: (i) surface having open pores and (ii) surface having sealed pores. Using appropriate boundary conditions for these boundary surfaces, the equations giving the reflection coefficients corresponding to various reflected waves are presented. Numerical computations are performed for a specific model consisting of sandstone, water and carbon dioxide as solid, liquid and gas phases, respectively, of the porous medium. The variations of phase speeds and their corresponding attenuation coefficients are depicted against frequency parameter for all the existing waves. The variations of reflection coefficients and corresponding energy ratios against the angle of incidence are also computed and depicted graphically. It has been shown that in a limiting case, Eringen’s theory of swelling porous media reduces to Tuncay and Corapcioglu theory of porous media containing two immiscible fluids. The various numerical results under these two theories have been compared graphically.     

New physics contribution to neutral trilinear gauge boson couplings

We study the one-loop new physics effects to the CP even triple neutral gauge boson vertices γ ^⋆ γ Z, γ ^⋆ Z Z, Z ^⋆ Z γ and Z ^⋆ ZZ in the context of Little Higgs models. We compute the contribution of the additional fermions in Little Higgs models in the framework of direct product groups where [SU(2)×U(1)]² gauge symmetry is embedded in SU(5) global symmetry and also in the framework of the simple group where SU(N)×U(1) gauge symmetry breaks down to SU(2) _L ×U(1). We calculate the contribution of the fermions to these couplings when T parity is invoked. In addition, we re-examine the MSSM contribution at the chosen point of SPS1a′ and compare with the SM and Little Higgs models.     

Use of Chènevotte,a Valuable Co-Product of Industrial Hemp Fiber,as Adsorbent for Pollutant Removal. Part I: Chemical,Microscopic, Spectroscopic and Thermogravimetric Characterization of Raw and Modified Samples

FINEAU (2021–2024) is a trans-disciplinary research project involving French, Serbian, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian colleagues, a French agricultural cooperative and two surface-treatment industries, intending to propose chènevotte, a co-product of the hemp industry, as an adsorbent for the removal of pollutants from polycontaminated wastewater. The first objective of FINEAU was to prepare and characterize chènevotte-based materials. In this study, the impact of water washing and treatments (KOH, Na₂CO₃ and H₃PO₄) on the composition and structure of chènevotte (also called hemp shives) was evaluated using chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, X-ray computed nanotomography (nano-CT), attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, solid state NMR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The results showed that all these techniques are complementary and useful to characterize the structure and morphology of the samples. Before any chemical treatment, the presence of impurities with a compact unfibrillated structure on the surfaces of chènevotte samples was found. Data indicated an increase in the crystallinity index and significant changes in the chemical composition of each sample after treatment as well as in surface morphology and roughness. The most significant changes were observed in alkaline-treated samples, especially those treated with KOH.     

Characterization of weld (Reseda luteola L.) and spurge flax (Daphne gnidium L.) by high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detection–mass spectrometry in Arraiolos historical textiles

The natural dyes, and dye sources, in two seventeenth century Arraiolos carpets from the National Museum of Machado de Castro were analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV–vis diode array detection (HPLC–DAD) and HPLC–mass spectrometry (LC–MS). Weld (Reseda luteola L.), indigo and spurge flax (Daphne gnidium L.) were found to be the dye sources, in agreement with original dyeing recipes collected during the nineteenth century. In order to fully characterize the plant sources, LC–MS conditions were optimized with plant extracts and the chromatographic separation and mass detection were enhanced. Extraction of the dyes, in the Arraiolos carpet samples, was performed using mild conditions that avoid glycoside decomposition. For the blues a dimethylformamide solution proved to be efficient for indigotin recovery. For all the other colours, an improved mild extraction method (with oxalic acid, methanol, acetone and water) was used, enabling to obtain the full dye source fingerprint, namely the flavonoid glycosides in the yellow dyes.     

Pricing life insurance contracts with early exercise features

In this paper we describe an algorithm based on the Least Squares Monte Carlo method to price life insurance contracts embedding American options. We focus on equity-linked contracts with surrender options and terminal guarantees on benefits payable upon death, survival and surrender. The framework allows for randomness in mortality as well as stochastic volatility and jumps in financial risk factors. We provide numerical experiments demonstrating the performance of the algorithm in the context of multiple risk factors and exercise dates.     

Simultaneous voltammetric determination of prednisone and prednisolone in human body fluids

A sensitive, rapid and reliable electrochemical method based on voltammetry at single wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) modified edge plane pyrolytic graphite electrode (EPPGE) is proposed for the simultaneous determination of prednisolone and prednisone in human body fluids and pharmaceutical preparations. The electrochemical response of both the drugs was evaluated by osteryoung square wave voltammetry (OSWV) in phosphate buffer medium of pH 7.2. The modified electrode exhibited good electrocatalytic properties towards prednisone and prednisolone reduction with a peak potential of ∼−1230 and ∼−1332 mV respectively. The concentration versus peak current plots were linear for both the analytes in the range 0.01-100 μM and the detection limit (3σ/slope) observed for prednisone and prednisolone were 0.45 × 10⁻⁸, 0.90 × 10⁻⁸ M, respectively. The results of the quantitative estimation of prednisone and prednisolone in biological fluids were also compared with HPLC and the results were in good agreement.