Study of the behavior of the nuclear modification factor in freeze-out state

One of the latest trends in the advancement of experimental high-energy physics is to identify the quark gluon plasma (QGP) predicted qualitatively by quantum chromodynamics (QCD). We discuss whether nuclear transparency effect which is considered an important phenomenon, connected with dynamics of hadron-nuclear and nuclear-nuclear interactions could reflect some particular properties of the medium. FASTMC is used for Au-Au collision at RHIC energies. Critical change in the transparency is considered a signal on the appearance of new phases of strongly interacting matter and the QGP.     

Comparative experimental studies on the mechanical and degradation properties of natural fibers reinforced polypropylene composites

Coir/silk fiber-reinforced polypropylene (PP) based unidirectional composites (40 wt.%) were manufactured by compression molding. Coir/silk fibers and PP sheets were treated with ultraviolet radiation at different intensities and then composites were fabricated. It was found that mechanical properties of irradiated silk/irradiated PP composites were found to increase significantly compared to the untreated ones and even higher than that of irradiated coir/irradiated PP composites. Soil degradation tests indicated that irradiated coir/irradiated PP composites significantly lost much of its mechanical properties, but irradiated silk/irradiated PP composites retained their strength of its original integrity. Scanning electron microscopy and water uptake of both types of composites were also investigated.     

ZnO nanorods–polymer hybrid white light emitting diode grown on a disposable paper substrate

We demonstrate intrinsic white light emission from hybrid light emitting diodes fabricated using an inorganic–organic hybrid junction grown at 50 °C on a paper substrate. Cyclotene was first spin coated on the entire substrate to act as a surface barrier layer for water and other nutrient solutions. The active area of the fabricated light emitting diode (LED) consists of zinc oxide nanorods (ZnO NRs) and a poly(9,9‐dioctylfluorene) (PFO) conducting polymer layer. The fabricated LED shows clear rectifying behavior and a broad band electroluminescence (EL) peak covering the whole visible spectrum range from 420 nm to 780 nm. The color rendering index (CRI) was calculated to be 94 and the correlated color temperature (CCT) of the LED was 3660 K. The low process temperature and procedure in this work enables the use of paper substrate for the fabrication of low cost ZnO–polymer white LEDs for applications requiring flexible/disposable electronic devices. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Aspochalasin H1: A New Cyclic Aspochalasin from Hawaiian Plant-Associated Endophytic Fungus Aspergillus sp. FT1307

Aspergillus is one of the most diverse genera, and it is chemically profound and known to produce many biologically active secondary metabolites. In the present study, a new aspochalasin H1 (1), together with nine known compounds (2–10), were isolated from a Hawaiian plant-associated endophytic fungus Aspergillus sp. FT1307. The structures were elucidated using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) (¹H, ¹H-¹H COSY, HSQC, HMBC, ROESY and 1D NOE), high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (HRESIMS), and comparisons with the reported literature. The absolute configuration of the new compound was established by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) in combination with NMR calculations. The new compound contains an epoxide moiety and an adjacent trans-diol, which has not been reported before in the aspochalasin family. The antibacterial screening of the isolated compounds was carried out against pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Methicillin-resistant S. aureus and Bacillus subtilis). The antiproliferative activity of compounds 1–10 was evaluated against human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and T46D) and ovarian cancer cell lines (A2780).     

Optimal government scrappage subsidies in the presence of strategic consumers

Many countries have introduced vehicle scrappage programs to motivate consumers to replace their old cars earlier. Since these programs are generally offered over a given period of time, policy makers need to plan for inter-temporal subsidies. Considering a two-period game between strategic consumers and the government, we determine the optimal scrappage subsidy levels. Our results demonstrate that the subsidy level in the second period is higher than in the first, allowing the government to discriminate on price (or subsidy) between consumers with different valuations. In addition, we show that subsidy levels increase with the government’s targeted replacement level. However, when the government target level changes from intermediate to high, the first-period subsidy drops while the second-period subsidy remains unchanged.     

Nucleus-acoustic solitary waves in self-gravitating degenerate quantum plasmas

Nucleus-acoustic(NA) solitary waves(SWs) propagating in a self-gravitating degenerate quantum plasma(SDQP)system(containing non-relativistically degenerate heavy and light nuclei,and non-/ultra-relativistically degenerate electrons) have been theoretically investigated.The modified Korteweg–de Vries(m K-d V) equation has been derived for both planar and non-planar geometry by employing the reductive perturbation technique.It is shown that the NA SWs exist with positive(negative) electrostatic(self-gravitational) potential.It is also observed that the effects of non-/ultra-relativistically degenerate electron pressure,dynamics of non-relativistically light nuclei,spherical geometry,etc.significantly modify the basic features(e.g.,amplitude,width,speed,etc.) of the NA SWs.The applications of our results,which are relevant to astrophysical compact objects,like white dwarfs and neutron stars,are briefly discussed.     

Comparative analysis of oil composition and antibacterial activity of aerial parts of Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.)

Abstract

Volatile oil composition of leaves and fruits of Terminalia arjuna (Roxb.) was reported for the first time. Oils were extracted by microwave assisted hydrodistillation where yield of both oils were found to be 0.20% and their GC-MS analyses led to the identification of 65 and 48 constituents, respectively. Major constituents of leaves were carvacrol (11.17%), thymol (6.52%), α-terpinyl acetate (5.92%) and anethole (5.13%) while that of fruits were (E)-isoeugenol (11.48%), furfural (8.25%), p-vinylguaiacol (6.8%) and p-ethylguaiacol (5.72%) that demonstrated a significant difference between composition of its aerial parts, however, 33 constituents were identical that showed similarity characteristics in quality of these oils. Both leaf and fruit oils were found active against pathogenic and drug-resistant microbes: E. coli, Methicillin-resistant S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, Total-drug-resistant P. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae with MIC values of 0.32, 0.32, 0.64, 0.64, 2.56?mg/mL and 0.16, 0.16, 0.32, 0.64, 1.28?mg/mL, respectively.     

Counters Designs with Minimum Number of Cells and Area in the Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata Technology

The quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) were highly regarded due to its high operating frequency and significantly low power consumption. One of the most useful circuits in processors architecture is counter. This paper presents effective designs and arrangement of QCA based counter-circuits. In this study new counter circuits in QCA technology are designed and precise simulation are done using the QCADesigner. Three, four and five bits counters are proposed in this paper in QCA technology. A comparison is made between the past and recent designs to illustrate which method is better and more efficient in terms of area, complexity, number of cells, and delay. For example, the proposed three bit shift register has 174 quantum cells, 0.2μm² occupied area and three QCA clock cycles delay.