Trace uranium analysis of water from the south-west coastal region of India

Water samples collected from various sources along the south-west coastal region of India have been analyzed for trace uranium concentration. Fission track registration technique with the Dry method has been used for the analysis. Uranium concentration was found to vary from 0.28±0.01 g/l to 2.71±0.41 g/l and was higher in sea water than in well, river and tap water, respectively.     

Drop size prediction in liquid membrane systems

The design of separation equipment using liquid membranes requires predictive methods for the estimation of drop diameters of the dispersed liquid membrane “macrodrop”. Existing models for drop breakage in liquid-liquid systems underpredict drop diameters of liquid membrane macrodrops even after incorporating the effects of dispersed phase viscosity and hold-up. By considering that the microdroplets within a liquid membrane macrodrop cause a damping of induced drop oscillations arising from external turbulence, the recently proposed model of Calabrese et al. (1986) has been modified and the resulting model equations have been shown to predict drop diameters of both oil as well as water liquid membrane macrodrops reasonably well.     

Chemopreventive action of xanthone derivatives on photosensitized DNA damage

Photosensitized DNA damage participates in solar-UV carcinogenesis, photogenotoxicity and phototoxicity. A chemoprevention of photosensitized DNA damage is one of the most important methods for the above phototoxic effects. In this study, the chemopreventive action of xanthone (XAN) derivatives (bellidifolin [BEL], gentiacaulein [GEN], norswertianin [NOR] and swerchirin [SWE]) on DNA damage photosensitized by riboflavin was demonstrated using [32P]-5'-end-labeled DNA fragments obtained from genes relevant to human cancer. GEN and NOR effectively inhibited the formation of piperidine-labile products at consecutive G residues by photoexcited riboflavin, whereas BEL and SWE did not show significant inhibition of DNA damage. The four XAN derivatives decrease the formation of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodGuo), an oxidative product of G, by photoexcited riboflavin. The preventive action for the 8-oxodGuo formation of these XAN derivatives increased in the following order: GEN>NOR>BEL>SWE. A fluorescence spectroscopic study and ab initio molecular orbital calculations suggested that the prevention of DNA photodamage is because of the quenching of the triplet excited state of riboflavin by XAN derivatives through electron transfer. This chemoprevention is based on neither antioxidation nor a physical sunscreen effect; rather, it is based on the quenching of a photosensitizer. In conclusion, XAN derivatives, especially GEN, may act as novel chemopreventive agents by the quenching mechanism of an excited photosensitizer.     

Preparation of125I labeled testosterone derivatives for use in radioimmunoassays

A study for separation and sequential recovery of uranium and plutonium from nitric acid solutions by extraction chromatography using tributyl phosphate (TBP)/Amberlite XAD7 as stationary phase is presented. Distribution ratios of actinides, lanthanides and fission products were obtained. The column capacity was investigated and actinides retention conditions were established. Finally, U-Pu sequential separation was studied as well as the U and Pu recovery yields from nitric solutions containing Am/fission products were determined.     

Phonons in TiO2---SiO2 glasses

We report the infrared and Raman studies of titanium doped vitreous silica glasses for a number of titanium concentrations. The vibrational modes associated with the randomly oriented chains of SiO₄ tetrahedra show broadenings and shifts. The LO-TO splitting of some Raman active modes decreases with increasing titanium concentration. This is attributed to the decrease in long-range coulomb fields associated with the chains of SiO₄ tetrahedra which are broken by the titanium atoms. The results are discussed in the context of random network models. An increase in the average intertetrahedral angle of the SiO₄ network is calculated from the data. This explains the anomalous decrease in the density of TiO₂---SiO₂ glasses with increasing titanium content. We identify two new modes associated with the distorted titanium tetrahedra. A polarized Raman mode at 1115 cm⁻¹ which is infrared inactive and an unpolarized Raman mode at 945 cm⁻¹ which is infrared active are observed.     

Indium-organic framework CPP-3（In） derived Ag/In2O3 porous hexagonal tubes for H2S detection at low temperature

There is a great demand for high-performance hydrogen sulfide（H₂S） sensors with low operating temperatures. Ag/In₂O₃ hexagonal tubes with different proportions were prepared by the calcination of Ag+-impregnated indium-organic frameworks(CPP-3（In）), and the developed sensors exhibit enhanced gassensing performance toward H₂S. Gas sensing measurements indicate that the response of Ag/In₂O₃（2.5 wt%） sensor to 5 ppm H₂S ha...     

The time differential perturbed angular correlation study of binding of hafnium to humic acid and its model compound

Time differential perturbed angular correlation (TDPAC) spectroscopy has been used to study the binding of hafnium to mandelic acid, which is a model compound of humic acid. The Fourier transform of TDPAC spectrum of Hf–mandelate complex showed two ω values, namely, ω_Q1 = 77 (±0.4) Mrad/s and ω_Q2 = 111 (±3.1) Mrad/s. The asymmetry parameters for the two sites were found to be 0.7 and 0.3, respectively. The electric field gradient (EFG) around the metal ion was theoretically calculated using the computer code GAMESS. The calculated EFG value was found to be in reasonable agreement with that deduced from experiment. Contrary to Hf–mandelate, the TDPAC spectrum of Hf–humate system did not show characteristic features of discrete binding sites.     

On the contribution of nonlinear scattering to optical limiting in C60 solution

We present experimental results which bring out the contribution of nonlinear scattering to the energy limiting of 527 nm, 30 ns pulses in C₆₀ solution. To perform these measurements we used a specific experimental arrangement to separate the effects of nonlinear refraction and scattering. Our results show that scattering reduces the output significantly and contributes to limiting in C₆₀ solution.     

X-ray edge spectra — a sea-boson perspective

The well-studied X-ray-edge problem is revisited using the sea-boson method. This approach is contrasted with the well-known theories of Mahan, Nozières and De Dominicis (MND). The present approach does not use the sudden approximation and the holes carry a momentum label unlike in the MND theory. We focus on the case of doped semiconductors rather than metals. The problem of electrons in a partially filled conduction band and holes in the initially hole-depleted valence band is recast in the sea-boson language. The resulting hamiltonian is shown to be equivalent to the electron-phonon hamiltonian with the excitons taking on the role of electrons and intra-conduction band particle-hole excitations known as ‘conductrons’ taking on the role of phonons. It is shown that the excitonic pole in the computed absorption spectra is replaced by a branch cut with a simple radical leading to a broadening of the exicton line due to these many-body effects. A critical comparison is made with the MND theory as well as with relevant experiments.     

Effect of targets on plasma focus dynamics

Shadowgraphs were taken of a 3-kJ plasma focus in the presence of a flat disc target placed downstream of the anode and a 1-mm wire target inserted along the axis at the anode. It was found that: (i) the flat disc target does not affect the dynamics of the focus proper when it is placed downstream at a distance greater than the anode radius; (ii) the current sheet moves over the disc and forms a pinch beyond it as though the disc had become a new anode; and (iii) the plasma focuses strongly onto a 1-mm wire on-axis. These observations may be used to design beam-target experiments in a plasma focus machine. They indicate the possibility of focus-fiber experiments, and also raise the possibility of and indicate the guidelines for designing a sequential focus device