Non-linearity parameter B/A of binary liquid mixtures at elevated pressures

When sound waves of high amplitude propagate, several non-linear effects occur. Ultrasonic studies in liquid mixtures provide valuable information about structure and interaction in such systems. The present investigation comprises of theoretical evaluation of the acoustic non-linearity parameter B/A of four binary liquid mixtures using Tong and Dong equation at high pressures and T=303.15 K. Thermodynamic method has also been used to calculate the non-linearity parameter after making certain approximations.     

Electron diffraction data as a constraint in the determination of force field of thallous halide dimers

Electron diffraction data have been used as a constraint in the determination of force field for Tl₂F₂ having planar rhombic structure. The L-F approximation method, recently given by us, has also been applied to evaluate force constants for thallous halide dimers,e.g. T1₂F₂ and T1₂Cl₂. The results have been compared with the available experimental data in order to check the validity of the present work. It is concluded that non-bond experimental mean amplitudeU ₁..._Tl for Tl₂F₂ is capable of fixing the force field and L-F approximation gives reasonably good force fields for the two thallous halide dimers now under study.     

Decay of Hot and Rotating $${}^{\boldsymbol{88}}$$ Mo $${}^{\boldsymbol{*}}$$ at Incident Energies of 300, 450, and 600 MeV

Physics of Atomic Nuclei - The reaction mechanism for the decay of the hot and rotating compound system $${}^{88}$$ Mo $${}^{*}$$ formed in $${}^{48}\textrm{Ti}+^{40}$$ Ca reaction and the time for...     

Biofortification—A Frontier Novel Approach to Enrich Micronutrients in Field Crops to Encounter the Nutritional Security

Globally, many developing countries are facing silent epidemics of nutritional deficiencies in human beings and animals. The lack of diversity in diet, i.e., cereal-based crops deficient in mineral nutrients is an additional threat to nutritional quality. The present review accounts for the significance of biofortification as a process to enhance the productivity of crops and also an agricultural solution to address the issues of nutritional security. In this endeavor, different innovative and specific biofortification approaches have been discussed for nutrient enrichment of field crops including cereals, pulses, oilseeds and fodder crops. The agronomic approach increases the micronutrient density in crops with soil and foliar application of fertilizers including amendments. The biofortification through conventional breeding approach includes the selection of efficient genotypes, practicing crossing of plants with desirable nutritional traits without sacrificing agricultural and economic productivity. However, the transgenic/biotechnological approach involves the synthesis of transgenes for micronutrient re-translocation between tissues to enhance their bioavailability. Soil microorganisms enhance nutrient content in the rhizosphere through diverse mechanisms such as synthesis, mobilization, transformations and siderophore production which accumulate more minerals in plants. Different sources of micronutrients viz. mineral solutions, chelates and nanoparticles play a pivotal role in the process of biofortification as it regulates the absorption rates and mechanisms in plants. Apart from the quality parameters, biofortification also improved the crop yield to alleviate hidden hunger thus proving to be a sustainable and cost-effective approach. Thus, this review article conveys a message for researchers about the adequate potential of biofortification to increase crop productivity and nourish the crop with additional nutrient content to provide food security and nutritional quality to humans and livestock.     

Electronic and optical properties of defect chalcopyrite HgAl2Se4

The structural, electronic and optical properties of HgAl₂Se₄ are investigated using the full potential linear augmented plane wave method based on density functional theory. The calculated structural parameters using LDA are in excellent agreement with the available experimental result. The obtained energy band gap (2.24 eV) using EV-GGA approximation is in excellent agreement with experimental data (2.20 eV). Variation in the energy band gap as a function of the unit cell lattice parameter has been studied. The optical properties show a considerable anisotropy, which makes this compound very useful for various linear–nonlinear optical devices.     

Observations on the nuclear interactions of cosmic ray pions and nucleons at energies ≳ 20 GeV

Detailed features of extremely collimated nuclear interactions induced by cosmic ray particles in carbon and brass (belonging to group I as classified in Part I of this series of papers) are presented. These extremely collimated nuclear interactions seem to be preferentially induced by pions rather than by nucleons; also the relative frequency of these seems to be less when brass is used as target compared to the case with carbon as target. The distribution of multiplicities of secondary particles emitted in the forward direction show certain regularities in the case of interactions induced by charged primaries. Observations on the γ-rays associated with these events give support to the interpretation that in these inelastic collisions pions are produced in pairs in the forward direction with low transverse momentum. It is suggested that such a low energy di-pion system could be the same as found in the so-called ABC effect.     

Strongly nonlinear variational inequalities and generalized pseudocontractions

The solvability of a class of generalized strongly nonlinear variational inequality problems on nonempty closed convex sets in Hilbert spaces is presented.     

Spatially Homogeneous Bianchi Type V Cosmological Model in the Scale-Covariant Theory of Gravitation

We discuss spatially homogeneous and anisotropic Bianchi type-V spacetime filled with a perfect fluid in the framework of the seale-covariant theory of gravitation proposed by Canuto et al. By applying the law of variation for Hubble＇s parameter, exact solutions of the field equations are obtained, which correspond to the model of the universe having a big-bang type singularity at the initial time t = 0. The cosmological model, evolving from the initial singularity, expands with power-law expansion and gives essentially an empty space for a large time. The physical and dynamical properties of the model are also discussed.