(e, 3e) test on e-e correlations in helium

The angular variations of the five-fold differential cross section obtained by using different wave functions of helium are compared with experimental data. It is found that in the coplanar geometry two kinematical arrangements, (i) equal energy sharing between the two ejected electrons with one of them ejected along the momentum transfer direction and the other along varying direction and (ii) the Bethe ridge condition with fixed sum of ejected electron energies and varying angle between them, are very sensitive to e-e correlations contained in the target wave function. This comparison has been used to show that open-shell class of wave functions better incorporate e-e correlations than the closed-shell class.     

Simultaneous determination of60Co,131I and137Cs in model radioactive waste water by reverse radiometric flow injection analysis with the aid of a multichannel analyzer

Reverse radiometric flow injection analysis was used for the simultaneous determination of⁶⁰Co,¹³¹I and¹³⁷Cs in model radioactive waste water. A NaI (Tl) scintillation detector coupled to a Canberra MCA was used for measuring the activity of¹³⁷Cs at 662 keV,⁶⁰Co at 1173 keV and 1332 keV, and¹³¹I at 364 keV.     

Structures and Bioactivities of Steroidal Saponins Isolated from the Genera Dracaena and Sansevieria

The species Dracaena and Sansevieria, that are well-known for different uses in traditional medicines and as indoor ornamental plants with air purifying property, are rich sources of bioactive secondary metabolites. In fact, a wide variety of phytochemical constituents have been isolated so far from about seventeen species. This paper has reviewed the literature of about 180 steroidal saponins, isolated from Dracaena and Sansevieria species, as a basis for further studies. Saponins are among the most characteristic metabolites isolated from the two genera. They show a great variety in structural motifs and a wide range of biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-proliferative effects and, in most case, remarkable cytotoxic properties.     

Nucleotide Analogues Bearing a C2′ or C3′-Stereogenic All-Carbon Quaternary Center as SARS-CoV-2 RdRp Inhibitors

The design of novel nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) analogues bearing an all-carbon quaternary center at C2′ or C3′ is described. The construction of this all-carbon stereogenic center involves the use of an intramoleculer photoredox-catalyzed reaction. The nucleoside analogues (NA) hydroxyl functional group at C2′ was generated by diastereoselective epoxidation. In addition, highly enantioselective and diastereoselective Mukaiyama aldol reactions, diastereoselective N-glycosylations and regioselective triphosphorylation reactions were employed to synthesize the novel NTPs. Two of these compounds are inhibitors of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of SARS-CoV-2, the causal virus of COVID-19.     

Development of novel backwash cleaning technique for reverse osmosis in reclamation of secondary effluent

The objective of the study was to further develop a novel cleaning technique for reverse osmosis in reclamation of municipal secondary effluent. This technique is a new backwash method via direct osmosis (DO) by intermittent injection of the high salinity (HS) solution without stopping of high pressure pump and it is environment and membrane friendly technique. In the study, DO-HS trials were carried out with a UF-RO pilot system which was operated on site with the secondary treated effluent as the raw feed. Different operating conditions for DO-HS treatment in the actual process were investigated. It was found that the operation for implementation of the DO-HS cleaning technique developed was easy. For the first time, the actual profiles of HS concentration, DO backwash flow rate, brine flow rate and permeate pressure during DO-HS treatment have been demonstrated. It was observed that turbidity of the brine stream during DO-HS treatment at 3 NTU was 5 times higher than that before DO-HS treatment. The results from this study have confirmed the previous hypothesis with DO-HS treatment that there would be a strong driving force for DO backwash to lift and sweep the foulants from the membrane surface which would be carried over to the brine. The optimal plant operating conditions in terms of RO feed flow rate, HS concentration and HS injection time are ready for the DO-HS method to be adopted and validated in a long-term continuous plant operation.     

Rapid, sensitive DNT vapor detection with UV-assisted photo-chemically synthesized gold nanoparticle SERS substrates

We report rapid, sensitive, and direct detection of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) vapor using tailored gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) as the SERS substrate. The Au-NPs were synthesized using the UV-assisted photo-chemical reduction method and subsequently formed a monolayer on the glass slide through polymer-mediated self-assembly. The SERS substrate such prepared has high SERS enhancement, high affinity towards DNT vapor, and rapid response to the DNT adsorption/desorption. We systematically studied the effect of the Au-NP size and surface density on the SERS performance such as enhancement factor and response time. With the optimized SERS substrate, an enhancement factor over 5.6 × 10(6) was achieved. Furthermore, real-time detection of DNT vapor with only 0.35 second data acquisition time was demonstrated using a 12 mW laser. Compared to previously reported results, we achieved two orders of magnitude reduction in detection time and more than one order of magnitude reduction in excitation laser power. The detection limit is estimated to be 0.4 attogram, which corresponds to a sub-ppb DNT concentration in air. This work will lead to the development of ultra-fast and ultra-sensitive SERS devices for explosive identification and monitoring.     

Polarization of line radiation in the presence of external electric quadrupole and uniform magnetic fields: II. Arbitrary orientation of magnetic field

In continuation of our earlier investigation (referred to hereafter as part I) where we considered the mathematically simple case of magnetic field orientation along the Z-axis of the principal axes frame (PAF) of the electric quadrupole field, we take up here the general problem of arbitrary orientation of the magnetic field with respect to the PAF, and investigate the nature of polarized line spectra of an atom making a transition from an upper level with spin J_u to a lower level with spin J_l. Explicit formulae for the emitted Stokes parameters are obtained and we discuss their physical significance by computing numerically the cases of transitions J_u=1→J_l=0 and . Specific features or signatures of the polarized line spectra are discussed as functions of the relevant physical parameters. The Stokes parameters are also analyzed in terms of the Zeeman term contributions and the cross-term contributions (which arise due to quantum interference).     

Theory of sheath in a collisional multi-component plasma

The aim of this brief report is to study the behaviour of sheath structure in a multi-component plasma with dust-neutral collisions. The plasma consists of electrons, ions, micron size negatively charged dust particles and neutrals. The sheath-edge potential and sheath width are calculated for collisionally dominated sheath. Comparison of collisionless and collisionally dominated sheath are made.     

Polarization of line radiation in the presence of external electric quadrupole and uniform magnetic fields

The polarization of emission lines formed in a medium immersed in external electric and magnetic fields is studied. The electric field is assumed to be quadrupolar in nature, while the magnetic field is uniform. We show that the quadrupole electric field produces line splitting which is characteristically different from the Zeeman effect. While the line components emitted along the quantization axis are circularly polarized in Zeeman effect, they are, in contrast, linearly polarized in the case of a pure quadrupole electric field. The emission perpendicular to the quantization axis produces three linearly polarized components in Zeeman effect, whereas only two linearly polarized components are observed in the case of quadrupole electric fields. Lack of azimuthal symmetry in the quadrupole electric field leads to polarized line components which appear quite differently for different azimuthal angles of the line of sight.