Neutron induced radiography in the determination of boron in drinking water

Neutron induced radiography has been applied to the determination of boron concentrations in drinking water, collected from natural springs of Reshian and Muzaffarabad areas of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, using CR-39 etched track detectors. The technique is based upon the simultaneous irradiation with thermal neutrons of a sample of unknown concentration and a standard of known boron concentration, fixed on a track detector. The subsequent counting of alpha and ⁷Li tracks in the detector resulting from the ¹⁰B(n,)⁷Li nuclear reaction is done after chemical etching. Boron concentration in the sample is determined by comparing ⁷Li and alpha-particle track density with that of a standard of known boron concentration. Boron concentrations in drinking water samples from Muzaffarabad and Reshian area of Azad Kashmir have been found to vary from (0.054±0.001) mg/l to (0.250±0.004) mg/l with an average of (0.16±0.002) mg/l. The observed concentration of boron in drinking water has been found to be less than the provisional Maximum Acceptable Concentration level (0.4 mg//l) of WHO. The drinking water from the reported area has been found to be within safe limits as far as boron related health hazards are concerned.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Solvent extraction of trivalent lanthanide Pr(III), Ho(III) and Er(III) with N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine

Extraction of Pr(III), Ho(III) and Er(III) has been studied in the pH range of 1–10 with N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine (BPHA) in benzene. The separation was found to be quantitative in borate media from pH 7 to 10, at an ionic strength of 0.1M (H⁺, BO₃ ^3–). The stoichiometric composition of the complexes under the optimal conditions of shaking time, pH and reagent concentration was formulated using slope analysis and found to be M(BPHA)₃, where M=Pr(III), Ho(III) and Er(III). The effect of various masking agents shows that citrate, ascorbate, EDTA, oxalate, fluoride and phosphate form stable complexes with these rare earths as compared to BPHA. The decontamination factors for different cations with respect to these rare earths under the optimum conditions have been evaluated.     

Flow and heat transfer with prescribed skin friction in a rotating fluid

This paper investigates the rotating flow and heat transfer of a viscous fluid induced by a stretching surface. The nonlinear problem subject to a given skin friction at the boundary is solved. Analytic solution is obtained using homotopy analysis method. The velocity, temperature, and stretching velocity is calculated for different values of the rotation parameter (λ). The obtained results are compared with the well known results of rotating flow induced by a stretching surface by using four sets of boundary conditions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prescriptive analytics for FIFA World Cup lodging capacity planning

The FIFA World Cup, comprising sixty-four matches spanning an entire month, has, in recent years, been attended by about three million spectators of which over half a million are visitors requiring lodging. Planning lodging capacity for an event of this magnitude is necessary for host nations where pre-existing infrastructures are either inadequate or lacking. This paper develops an optimization analytics framework that sequentially employs two integer programming models for foreign spectator analysis and the consequent lodging requirements. The framework is applied to assess the preparedness of lodging infrastructure in Qatar for FIFA 2022.     

Characterization of ion irradiated silicon surfaces ablated by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Low energy metallic ions,generated by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser(1064-nm wavelength,10-mJ energy,9-nm～12-ns-pulse width,10~(11)W/cm~2intensity)irradiated on a silicon substrate to modify various properties,such as electrical,morphological,and structural modifications.Thomson parabola technique is used to calculate the energy of these metallic ions whereas the electrical conductivity is calculated with the help of Four-point probe.Interestingly circular tracks forming chain like damage trails are produced via these energetic ions which are carefully examined by optical microscopy.It is observed that excitation,ionization,and cascade collisions are responsible for surface modifications of irradiated samples.Four-point probe analysis revealed that the electrical conductivity of substrate has reduced with increasing trend of atomic number of irradiated metallic ions(Al,Ti,Cu,and Au).The x-ray diffraction analysis elucidated the crystallographic changes leading to reduction of grain size of N-type silicon substrate,which is also associated with the metallic ions used.The decreasing trend of conductivity and grain size is due to thermal stresses,scattering effect,structural imperfections,and non-uniform conduction of energy absorbed by substrate atoms after the ion irradiation.     

Green synthesis and characterizations of Nickel oxide nanoparticles using leaf extract of Rhamnus virgata and their potential biological applications

In the present report, Nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiONPs) were synthesized using Rhamnus virgata (Roxb.) (Family: Rhamnaceae) as a potential stabilizing, reducing and chelating agent. The formation, morphology, structure and other physicochemical properties of resulting NiONPs were characterized by Ultra violet spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared analysis (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy‐dispersive‐spectroscopy (EDS), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Detailed in vitro biological activities revealed significant therapeutic potential for NiONPs. The antimicrobial efficacy of biogenic NiONPs was demonstrated against five different gram positive and gram negative bacterial strains. Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC: 125 μg/mL) were found to be the least susceptible and Bacillus subtilis (MIC: 31.25 μg/mL) was found to be the most susceptible strain to NiONPs. Biogenic NiONPs were reported to be highly potent against HepG2 cells (IC₅₀: 29.68 μg/ml). Moderate antileishmanial activity against Leishmania tropica (KMH₂₃) promastigotes (IC₅₀: 10.62 μg/ml) and amastigotes (IC₅₀: 27.58 μg/ml) cultures are reported. The cytotoxic activity was studied using brine shrimps and their IC₅₀ value was recorded as 43.73 μg/ml. For toxicological assessment, NiONPs were found compatible towards human RBCs (IC₅₀: > 200 μg/ml) and macrophages (IC₅₀: > 200 μg/ml), deeming particles safe for various applications in nanomedicines. Moderate antioxidant activities: total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (51.43%), 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) activity (70.36%) and total reducing power (TRP) (45%) are reported for NiONPs. In addition, protein kinase and alpha amylase inhibition assays were also performed. Our results concluded that Rhamnus virgata synthesized NiONPs could find important biomedical applications with low cytotoxicity to normal cells.