Photoluminescence and Thermoluminescence Investigation of Europium- and Dysprosium-Doped Dibarium Magnesium Silicate Phosphor

Europium- and dysprosium-doped barium magnesium silicate powder with different concentrations of dysprosium was synthesized using solid state reactions. The prepared phosphors were characterized using photoluminescence. Prominent green color emissions were obtained under ultraviolet excitation. The thermoluminescence glow curves of the samples were measured after various delay times. With increased delay time, the intensity of the thermoluminescence peak decays, and the position of the thermoluminescence peak shifts to higher temperatures, indicating the considerable retrapping associated with general order kinetics. Refined lattice parameters of monoclinic phosphor were calculated.     

Quantification of trandolapril and its metabolite trandolaprilat in human plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry using solid-phase extraction

A sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of trandolapril and its metabolite trandolaprilat in human plasma using ramipril as an internal standard. Following solid-phase extraction, the analytes were separated using an isocratic mobile phase on a reversed-phase column and analyzed by MS/MS in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the respective [M-H]- ions, m/z 429/168 for trandolapril, m/z 401/168 for trandolaprilat and m/z 415/166 for the internal standard. The method exhibited a linear dynamic range of 20-10,000 pg/mL for both trandolapril and trandolaprilat in human plasma. The lower limit of quantification was 20 pg/mL for both trandolapril and its metabolite. Acceptable precision and accuracy were obtained for concentrations over the standard curve range. A run time of 2.0 min for each sample made it possible to analyze more than 400 human plasma samples per day. The validated method has been successfully used to analyze human plasma samples for application in pharmacokinetic, bioavailability or bioequivalence studies.     

Investigation of chemical mechanical polishing of zinc oxide thin films

Zinc oxide has become an important material for various applications. Commercially available zinc oxide single crystals and as-grown zinc oxide thin films have high surface roughness which has detrimental effects on the growth of subsequent layers and device performance. A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process was developed for the polishing of zinc oxide polycrystalline thin films. Highly smooth surfaces with RMS roughness <6 Å (as compared to the initial roughness of 26 ± 6 Å) were obtained under optimized conditions with removal rates as high as 670 Å/min. Effects of various CMP parameters on removal rate and surface roughness were evaluated. The role of pH on the polishing characteristics was investigated in detail.     

Influence of Aprotic Solvents on the Transmission of Anomalous Substituent Effects on 13C NMR Chemical Shifts at the Carboxyl Carbon (δco) in Meta-Substituted Benzoic Acids: A Strong Evidence for π-Polarization Mechanism

Anomalous (reverse) substituent-induced ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts at the carboxyl carbon (δ_co) in meta-substituted benzoic acids have been studied for 11 substituents having varying electronic effects in 4 aprotic (nonhydroxylic) solvents of varying polarity by employing different dual substituent parameter models. The regression results for apolar aprotic solvents provide a strong evidence for through space π-polarization mode of transmission of reverse meta-substituent effects on the carboxyl carbon in benzoic acids. The results for dipolar aprotic solvents indicate significant specific solvation of π-polarized forms of the acids. The study showed further that an apolar aprotic solvent has a distinct preference over a dipolar aprotic one for investigating intrinsic substituent effects on chemical shifts in aromatic molecules.     

Thermodynamic Comparison and the Ideal Glass Transition of Antiferromagnetic Ising Model on Multi-branched Husimi and Cubic Recursive Lattice with the Identical Coordination Number

Two types of recursive lattices with the identical coordination number but different unit cells (2-D square and 3-D cube) are constructed and the antiferromagnetic Ising model is solved exactly on them to study the stable and metastable states. A multi-branched structure of the 2-D plaquette model, which we introduced in this work, makes it possible to be an analog to the cubic lattice. Two solutions of each model can be found to exhibit the crystallization of liquid, and the ideal glass transition of supercooled liquid respectively. Based on the solutions, the thermodynamics on both lattices, e.g. the free energy, energy density, and entropy of the supercooled liquid, crystal, and liquid state of the model are calculated and compared with each other. Interactions between particles farther away than the nearest neighbor distance and multi-spins interactions are taken into consideration, and their effects on the thermal behavior are examined. The two lattices show comparable properties on the thermodynamics, which proves that both of them are practical to describe the regular 3-D case, especially to locate the ideal glass transition, while the 2-D multi-branched plaquette model is less accurate with the advantage of simpler formulation and less computation time consumption.     

Nitrogen content determinations in different stages of thermal treatment involved in conversion of ammonium diuranate to uranium metal

Accurate, low-level measurement of ²²⁶Ra in high volume water samples requires rapid pre-concentration and robust separation techniques prior to measurement in order to comply with discharge limits and drinking water regulations. This study characterises the behaviour of ²²⁶Ra and interfering elements on recently developed TK100 (Triskem International) extraction chromatography resin. Distribution coefficients over a range of acid concentrations are given, along with an optimised procedure that shows rapid pre-concentration and separation of ²²⁶Ra on TK100 resin is achievable for high volume (1 L) water samples without the need for sample pre-treatment.     

Thin layer chromatographic separation of a few food dyes over scolecite as a new adsorbent

Summary A naturally occurring Zeolite mineral collected from Pawagad (Gujrat) india was shown to be a Scolecite of the natrolite group of Zeolites. After physico chemical characterization it was used as a new adsorbent for the separation of food dyes by TLC.     

On Reflection and Transmission of Electromagnetic Waves Obliquely Incident on Relativistically Moving Uniaxial and Isotropic Plasma Slabs

The oscillations in the power reflection coefficient as a function of the normalized slab velocity are shown for electromagnetic waves obliquely incident on a relativistically moving uniaxial plasma slab with an infinitely strong magneto-static field parallel to the slab boundaries. This paper also summarizes and concludes the sequence on the reflection and transmission of electromagnetic waves obliquely incident on relativistically moving uniaxial and isotropic plasma slabs.     

Chromatographic separation of uranium

Summary A solvent mixture of methanol and saturated ammonium acetate solution (18:2) is employed for the separation of uranium in ppm quantities from iron (up to 1000 fold excess) by paper chromatography. The separation from both iron and copper can be achieved by using a solvent mixture of methyl ethyl ketone, acetic acid, and diluted nitric acid (1613).

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Zusammenfassung Zur papierchromatographischen Trennung von ppm-Mengen Uran von Eisen (in bis zu 1000 fächem Überschuß) wird ein Laufmittel aus Methanol und gesätt. Ammoniumacetatläsung (182) benutzt. Die Trennung von Eisen und Kupfer wird mit einem Gemisch aus Methyläthylketon, Essigsäure und verd. Salpetersäure (1613) durchgeführt.

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The author is highly thankful to Prof. Bh. S.V. Raghava Rao for his valuable suggestions and guidance throughout the progress of this work.Thanks are also due to the Department of Geology, Andhra University for supplying the samples and to the Counsil of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi for the award of a fellowship.