The structure of some classes of <Emphasis Type="Italic">K</Emphasis>-contact manifolds

We study projective curvature tensor in K-contact and Sasakian manifolds. We prove that (1) if a K-contact manifold is quasi projectively flat then it is Einstein and (2) a K-contact manifold is ξ-projectively flat if and only if it is Einstein Sasakian. Necessary and sufficient conditions for a K-contact manifold to be quasi projectively flat and φ-projectively flat are obtained. We also prove that for a (2n + 1)-dimensional Sasakian manifold the conditions of being quasi projectively flat, φ-projectively flat and locally isometric to the unit sphere S ²ⁿ⁺¹ (1) are equivalent. Finally, we prove that a compact φ-projectively flat K-contact manifold with regular contact vector field is a principal S ¹-bundle over an almost Kaehler space of constant holomorphic sectional curvature 4.     

Photophysics of 9-aminoacridinium hydrochloride

The steady state and time domain spectroscopy of 9-aminoacridinium hydrochloride have been studied. 9-aminoacridine (I), 9-aminoacridinium (II) and the double protonated ion (III) follow Waterman’s principle with respect to their spectra and lifetimes. It is established that the excimer formation in (II) is from the ground state dimers which undergo either thermally-activated radiationless excimer conversion or a geometrical rearrangement in the excited state at room temperature. The quenching of monomer emission by dimers or foreign quenchers (KI) is found to be of transient nature as suggested by the continuum model. The authors felicitate Prof. D S Kothari on his eightieth birthday and dedicate this paper to him on this occasion.     

Ultrasonic and Thermophysical Properties of Cobalt Nanowires

Acoustical Physics - We have estimated elastic, mechanical, thermal and ultrasonic properties, in high temperature regime, of cobalt nanowires (Co-NWs) having a hexagonal close-packed (HCP)...     

Colloidal gold probe based rapid immunochromatographic strip assay for cortisol

A rapid and semi-quantitative immunochromatographic strip (ICS) test for cortisol analysis in serum was developed. The test strip was based on a competitive assay format. Colloidal gold nanoparticles were synthesized and coupled with cortisol-3-carboxymethyloxime-adipic acid dihydrazide-bovine serum albumin (F-3-CMO-ADH-BSA) antigen to directly compete with cortisol in human serum samples. F-3-CMO-ADH-BSA-gold label and uncoupled colloidal gold nanoparticles were appropriately characterized using UV-vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Anticortisol antibody raised against F-3-CMO-BSA immunogen in New Zealand white rabbits was coated on the NC membrane as test line. Anti-BSA antibody was used as control line. The lower detection limit of the ICS test was 30 ngmL(-1) with visual detection and was completed in 10 min. About 30 human serum samples were also analyzed by the developed strip test and their range of cortisol concentration was established. The developed ICS test is rapid, economic and user friendly.     

Recovery and pre-concentration of americium (III) from dilute acid solutions using an emulsion liquid membrane containing di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) as extractant

Radiochemical results of U isotopes (²³⁴U, ²³⁵U and ²³⁸U) and their activity ratios are reported for well waters as local sources of drinking waters collected from the ten settlements around the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (SNTS), Kazakhstan. The results show that ²³⁸U varies widely from 3.6 to 356 mBq/L (0.3–28.7 μg/L), with a factor of about 100. The ²³⁸U concentrations in some water samples from Dolon, Tailan, Sarzhal and Karaul settlements are comparable to or higher than the World Health Organization’s restrictive proposed guideline of 15 μg (U)/L. The ²³⁴U/²³⁸U activity ratios in the measured water samples are higher than 1, and vary between 1.1 and 7.9, being mostly from 1.5 to 3. The measured ²³⁵U/²³⁸U activity ratios are around 0.046, indicating that U in these well waters is of natural origin. It is probable that the elevated concentration of ²³⁸U found in some settlements around the SNTS is not due to the close-in fallout from nuclear explosions at the SNTS, but rather to the intensive weathering of rocks including U there. The calculated effective doses to adults resulting from consumption of the investigated waters are in the range 1.0–18.7 μSv/y. Those doses are lower than WHO and IAEA reference value (100 μSv/y) for drinking water.     

Assessment of natural uranium and 226Ra concentration in ground water around the uranium mine at Narwapahar, Jharkhand, India and its radiological significance

A brief study on dissolved radionuclides in aquatic environment, especially in ground water, constitutes the key aspect for assessment and control of natural exposure. In the present study the distribution of natural uranium and ²²⁶Ra concentration were measured in ground water samples collected within a 10 km radius around the Narwapahar uranium mine in the Singhbhum thrust belt of Jharkhand, India in 2007–2008. The natural uranium content in the ground water samples in this region was found to vary from 0.1 to 3.75 μg L^?1 with an average of 0.87 ± 0.73 μg L^?1 and ²²⁶Ra concentration was found to vary from 5.2 to 38.1 mBq L^?1 with an average of 13.73 ± 7.34 mBq L^?1. The mean annual ingestion dose due to intake of natural uranium and ²²⁶Ra through drinking water pathway to male and female adults population was estimated to be 6.55 and 4.78 μSv y^?1, respectively, which constitutes merely a small fraction of the reference dose level of 100 μSv y^?1 as recommended by WHO.     

Engineering of hydrophilic and plasmonic properties of Ag thin film by atom beam irradiation

Hydrophilic Ag nanostructures were synthesized by physical vapour deposition of 5 nm Ag thin films followed by irradiation with 1.5 keV Ar atoms. Optical absorbance measurements show a characteristic surface plasmon resonance absorption band in visible region. A blue-shift in absorbance from 532 to 450 nm is observed with increasing fluence from 1 × 10¹⁶ to 3 × 10¹⁶ atoms/cm². Atomic force microscopy was performed for the pristine and irradiated samples to study the surface morphology. The atom beam irradiation induced sputtering and surface diffusion lead to the formation of plasmonic surface. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy of the pristine and irradiated film indicates that metal content in the film decreases with ion fluence, which is attributed to the sputtering of Ag by Ar atoms. The contact angle measurement demonstrates the possibility of engineering the hydrophilicity by atom beam irradiation.     

Principal eigenvector field segmentation for reproducible diffusion tensor tractography of white matter structures

The study was aimed to test the feasibility of utilizing an algorithmically determinable stable fiber mass (SFM) map obtained by an unsupervised principal eigenvector field segmentation (PEVFS) for automatic delineation of 18 white matter (WM) tracts: (1) corpus callosum (CC), (2) tapetum (TP), (3) inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), (4) uncinate fasciculus (UNC), (5) inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFO), (6) optic pathways (OP), (7) superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), (8) arcuate fasciculus (AF), (9) fornix (FX), (10) cingulum (CG), (11) anterior thalamic radiation (ATR), (12) superior thalamic radiation (STR), (13) posterior thalamic radiation (PTR), (14) corticospinal/corticopontine tract (CST/CPT), (15) medial lemniscus (ML), (16) superior cerebellar peduncle (SCP), (17) middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP) and (18) inferior cerebellar peduncle (ICP). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-derived fractional anisotropy (FA) and the principal eigenvector field have been used to create the SFM consisting of a collection of linear voxel structures which are grouped together by color-coding them into seven natural classes to provide PEVFS signature segments which greatly facilitate the selection of regions of interest (ROIs) for fiber tractography using just a single mouse click, as compared with a manual drawing of ROIs in the classical approach. All the 18 fiber bundles have been successfully reconstructed, in all the subjects, using the single ROIs provided by the SFM approach, with their reproducibility characterized by the fact that the ROI selection is user independent. The essentially automatic PEVFS method is robust, efficient and compares favorably with the classical ROI methods for diffusion tensor tractography (DTT).     

Mathematical modelling of flow control in a tundish using electro-magnetic forces

The control of flow in a tundish is important for improving the quality of the steel. Dams, Wiers and Pouring chamber are some of the devices used for controlling the flow in the tundish. The investigation about the role of electromagnetic forces as a replacement for these devices is an objective for the present work. Thus, 3-D MHD simulation was performed to study the effect of electromagnetic forces on flow behaviour in the tundish. The MHD model developed for carrying out the simulation was validated with the analytical solution of the Hartman problem. The results obtained shows improvement in the desired characteristics for inclusion flotataion with magnetic flow modifier of optimum strength of magnetic field.