Hard photon production from unsaturated quark–gluon plasma at two-loop level

The hard photon production from bremsstrahlung and annihilation with scattering that arise at two-loop level are estimated for a chemically non-equilibrated quark–gluon plasma in the framework of Hard Thermal Loop (HTL) resummed effective field theory. The rate of photon production is found to be suppressed due to unsaturated phase space compared to equilibrated plasma. For an unsaturated plasma, unlike the effective one-loop case, the reduction in the effective two-loop processes is found to be independent of gluon fugacity, due to an additional collinear enhancement arising from the decrease in thermal quark mass but strongly depends on quark and antiquark fugacities. It is also found that the photon production is dominated by bremsstrahlung mechanism, since the phase space suppression is higher for annihilation with scattering, in contrast to the equilibrated plasma where annihilation with scattering dominates the photon production.     

Oxidative properties of a nonheme Ni(II)(O2) complex: Reactivity patterns for C-H activation, aromatic hydroxylation and heteroatom oxidation

Density functional theory calculations on the reactivity of a Ni(II)-superoxo complex in C-H bond activation, aromatic hydroxylation and heteroatom oxidation reactions have been explored; the Ni(II)-superoxo complex is able to react with substrates with weak C-H bonds and PPh(3).     

Virtual high throughput screening in new lead identification

Drug discovery continues to be one of the greatest contemporary challenges and rational application of modelling approaches is the first important step to obtain lead compounds, which can be optimised further. Virtual high throughput screening (VHTS) is one of the efficient approaches to obtain lead structures for a given target. Strategic application of different screening filters like pharmacophore mapping, shape-based, ligand-based, molecular similarity etc., in combination with other drug design protocols provide invaluable insights in lead identification and optimization. Screening of large databases using these computational methods provides potential lead compounds, thus triggering a meaningful interplay between computations and experiments. In this review, we present a critical account on the relevance of molecular modelling approaches in general, lead optimization and virtual screening methods in particular for new lead identification. The importance of developing reliable scoring functions for non-bonded interactions has been highlighted, as it is an extremely important measure for the reliability of scoring function. The lead optimization and new lead design has also been illustrated with examples. The importance of employing a combination of general and target specific screening protocols has also been highlighted.     

Extractive spectrophotometric determination of some anti-inflammatory agents with methylene violet

A fairly sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of ibuprofen, ketoprofen, piroxicam, diclofenac sodium, mefenamic acid or enfenamic acid in bulk samples and pharmaceutical preparations is described, based on the formation of a chloroform-soluble, coloured ion-association complex between the drug and Methylene Violet at pH 7.6.     

Mn site substitution of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 with closed shell ions: Effect on magnetic transition temperature

Mn site is substituted with closed shell ions (Al, Ga, Ti, Zr and a certain combination of Zr and Al) and also with Fe and Ru ions carrying the magnetic moment (S=5/2 and 2 respectively) at a fixed concentration of 5 at %. Substitution did not change either the crystal symmetry or the oxygen stoichiometry. All substituents were found to suppress both the metal-insulator and ferromagnetic transition temperatures (T _p(ρ) and T _C, respectively) to varied extents. Two main contributions identified for the suppression are the lattice disorder arising due to difference in the ionic radii between the substituent (r _M) and the Mn³⁺ ion (r _Mn ³⁺) and in the case of the substituents carrying a magnetic moment, the type of magnetic coupling between the substituent and that of the neighboring Mn ion.     

Structural studies on fullerenes

Amongst the other physical properties, the structure of fullerene solids, and the structural transformations with temperature, pressure and doping have all evoked considerable interest and during the last two years tremendous progress has been made in this area. This paper provides a brief review of the studies on the structural properties of pristine and doped fullerenes. The results of our own investigations are also presented.     

Phase transition in triglycine family of hydrogen bonded ferroelectrics: An interpretation based on structural studies

Using the crystal structure, a comprehensive interpretation of the origin of ferroelectricity in the hydrogen bonded triglycine family of crystals is given. Our detailed analysis showed that the instability of nitrogen double well potential plays a driving role in the mechanism of the ferroelectric transitions in these crystals.