Some results on series and parallel systems of randomized components

We study the system (series/parallel) where the components are randomly chosen from two different batches. We assume that one batch is more reliable than the other in some stochastic sense. In the case of series systems we show that, under certain conditions, lifetime of one system dominates that of the other in different stochastic orders viz. hazard rate, down shifted hazard rate and likelihood ratio orders. Further, we show that the same principle holds for the reversed hazard rate and the likelihood ratio orders in the case of parallel systems.     

Study of quenching of anthracene fluorescence by [60]fullerene

[60]Fullerene has been shown to have a very high quenching effect on the fluorescence of anthracene at room temperature in n-hexane, n-heptane and carbontetrachloride medium. The possibility that the quenching is due to ground state electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complex formation between [60]fullerene and anthracene has been shown to be untanable in the concentration range used ( approximately 10(-5)moldm(-3) in both anthracene and C(60)). No exciplex formation under the present experimental conditions has been observed. In the non-quenching solvents n-hexane and n-heptane the Stern-Volmer constant follows the right trend with respect to change in solvent viscosity but in case of the quenching solvent CCl(4), the trend is opposite.     

Enhanced ferromagnetism in nano-sized Zn0.95Mn0.05O grains

The present work reports ferromagnetism by doping magnetic Mn atoms in the diamagnetic ZnO matrix and the ferromagnetism has been extended up to 640 K in nano-grained Zn_0.95Mn_0.05O samples. The bulk and nano-grained samples were stabilized in hexagonal crystal structure with space group p63mc. The grain size and lattice strain of the samples were estimated from room temperature XRD spectrum. Surface morphology of the samples was examined at room temperature using SEM picture and EDX spectrum. The ferromagnetism of the bulk material shows enhancement in nano-grained samples, which was mainly due to the solution of Mn atoms into the lattice sites of ZnO by mechanical milling. The enhancement of magnetic moment and ferromagnetic ordering temperature with reduction in grain size has been understood in terms of the core-shell structure and existing theoretical models. The present work also demonstrated the role of surface spin disorder on the enhancement of ferromagnetism in Zn_0.95Mn_0.05O nanograins.     

Graph factorization: A new mode of application of a vertex-alternation scheme

Linear chains where the vertex weights change sign alternantly but are equal in magnitude were able to be reduced to smaller chains by a procedure analogous to that given by Coulson and Rushbrooke. The algorithm for constructing the reduced chains has been stated and proved. The results have been utilized, in conjunction with McClelland's graph-factorization method using reflection (σ) planes, to reduce the HMO secular determinants of some chemical graphs to an extent beyond the ability of group theory. McClelland's σ-plane algorithm, used repetitively where possible, produces factors whose sizes (n_M) are equal to those (n_G) of the group-theoretic factor blocks. For linear polyacenes (LP ), however, a new observation has been made: If the LP has an even number of fused rings, n_M = n_G; but when the LP has an odd number of fused rings, McClelland's process is effective in further reduction, i.e., n_M < n_G. In any case, however, the vertex alternation procedure reported in the present paper brings about further reduction. To demonstrate the utility of the present method, a sample calculation of the LUMO eigenvector graph theoretically has been shown for p-benzoquinone and the result has been utilized to obtain an inductive effect HMO parameter of the methyl group from the charge-transfer bands of some molecular complexes of methylated p-benzoquinones.© 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A naphthalene exciplex based Al3+ selective on-type fluorescent probe for living cells at the physiological pH range: experimental and computational studies

2-((Naphthalen-6-yl)methylthio)ethanol (HL) was prepared by one pot synthesis using 2-mercaptoethanol and 2-bromomethylnaphthalene. It was found to be a highly selective fluorescent sensor for Al(3+) in the physiological pH (pH 7.0-8.0). It could sense Al(3+) bound to cells through fluorescence microscopy. Metal ions like Mn(2+), Fe(3+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Zn(2+), Ag(+), Cd(2+), Hg(2+), Cr(3+) and Pb(2+) did not interfere. No interference was also observed with anions like Cl(-), Br(-), F(-), SO(4)(2-), NO(3)(-), CO(3)(2-), HPO(4)(2-) and SCN(-). Experimentally observed structural and spectroscopic features of HL and its Al(3+) complex have been substantiated by computational calculations using density functional theory (DFT) and time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT).     

Charge transfer interaction of 4-acetamidophenol (paracetamol) with 2,3-dichloro-1,4-naphthoquinone: a study in aqueous ethanol medium by UV-vis spectroscopic and DFT methods

4-Acetamidophenol (paracetamol) is shown to form charge transfer complex with 2,3-dichloro1,4-naphthoquinone in aqueous ethanol media exhibiting the unusual 2:1 (paracetamol:quinone) stoichiometry. The complexation enthalpy and entropy have been estimated from the formation constant (K) determined spectrophotometrically at five different temperatures. In aqueous ethanol mixtures of varying composition K increases with increasing dielectric constant of the medium. This has been rationalized by calculating the electronic charge distribution in paracetamol molecule and its conjugate base at the DFT/B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level. The theoretically calculated vertical ionization potential of paracetamol also agrees with reported experimental value.     

A naphthalene-based Al3+ selective fluorescent sensor for living cell imaging

An efficient fluorescent Al(3+) receptor, N-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthalene)-N'-(2-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthalene)amino-ethyl)-ethane-1,2-diamine (L) has been synthesized by the condensation reaction between 2-hydroxy naphthaldehyde and diethylenetriamine. High selectivity and affinity of L towards Al(3+) in ethanol (EtOH) as well as in HEPES buffer at pH 7.4, makes it suitable to detect intracellular Al(3+) with fluorescence microscopy. Metal ions, viz. Li(+), Na(+), K(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Mn(2+), Co(2+), Ni(2+), Cu(2+), Zn(2+), Ag(+), Cd(2+), Hg(2+) and Pb(2+) do not interfere. The lowest detection limit for Al(3+) is 3.0 × 10(-7) M and 1.0 × 10(-7) M in EtOH and HEPES buffer respectively.     

Design of a Hybrid Fiber-Optic Network Using 3-D Optical Code Sequences

We present the design of a 3-dimensional (3-D) noncoherent optical hybrid network. We also report the design of a new family of 3-D codes for fiber optic hybrid networks. We show that the hybrid network allows for shorter bit times and a higher number of users, given a set chip rate, compared to previously conceived networks. These newly designed hybrid single-pulse-per-row (HSPR) codes have very low autocorrelation side-lobes and very small cross-correlation peaks. We compare the performance of our hybrid model using our codes with the Optical Orthogonal Codes (OOCs) and Temporal/Spatial (T/S) codes and show that the new network can support a greater number of users and higher data rates than those using OOCs and T/S codes.     

Handcrafted fuzzy rules for tissue classification

This article proposes a handcrafted fuzzy rule-based system for segmentation and identification of different tissue types in magnetic resonance (MR) brain images. The proposed fuzzy system uses a combination of histogram and spatial neighborhood-based features. The intensity variation from one type of tissue to another is gradual at the boundaries due to the inherent nature of the MR signal (MR physics). A fuzzy rule-based approach is expected to better handle these variations and variability in features corresponding to different types of tissues. The proposed segmentation is tested to classify the pixels of the T2-weighted axial MR images of the brain into three primary tissue types: white matter, gray matter and cerebral-spinal fluid. The results are compared with those from manual segmentation by an expert, demonstrating good agreement between them.     

Strong pionic intermittency in ‘cold’ events in12C-AgBr interactions at 4.5 A GeV

In this paper intermittent behaviour of the pions from ‘cold’ and ‘hot’ classes of events from¹²C-AgBr interactions at 4.5 A GeV has been studied, separately. The results reveal strong intermittent pattern in case of ‘cold’ class of events.