Nonclassical trajectories in head-on collisions

Rutherford scattering is usually described by treating the projectile either classically or as quantum mechanical plane waves. Here we treat them as wave packets and study their head-on collisions with the stationary target nuclei. We simulate the quantum dynamics of this one-dimensional system and study deviations of the average quantum solution from the classical one. These deviations are traced back to the convexity properties of Coulomb potential. Finally, we sketch how these theoretical findings could be tested in experiments looking for the onset of nuclear reactions.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure

Tagged tiger shark (Galeocerda cuvieri) landed atTuticorin

The shark was caught by a mechanised Tuticorin type boat using hooks and line . The fish was caught at a distance of 40 km from shore southeast of Tuticorin in the 26 fathom depth area The fish weighed 130 kg and was sold by auction for Rupees 916. Morphometric measurements (in mm) of tagged tiger shark Galeocerda cuvieri caught off Tuticorin are Total length 2,050, Fork length 1,680, and detailed morphometry were recorded

A study of serum ferritin levels among voluntary blood donors

Background: The frequent blood donations may lead on to iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia. Estimation of haemoglobin and hematocrit levels alone in voluntary blood donors may not be adequate. Hence this study was taken to estimate the serum ferritin level among voluntary blood donors with different frequency of donation and compare with hemoglobin levels.Methods: A Cross sectional study consisted of 314 voluntary blood donors, they were grouped into control groups donating blood for the first time and group donating blood once, twice and thrice in a year. The red cell parameters were measured by automatic cell count analyzer and estimation of serum ferritin by ELISA method.Results: There were 88.2% males and 11.8% females. The distribution of donors on the basis of the frequency of donation per year were 50% first time, 23.9% once a year, 19.7% twice a year and 6.4% thrice a year donation. A statistically significant correlation was seen between frequency of donation and total number of life time donations and serum ferritin levels. Distribution on the basis of number of donations per year and serum ferritin <15 ng/ml in male donors were 6.9 % in first time, 19.4 % in once a year, 26.7% in twice a year and 50% in thrice year donation. Among female donors 40.7% in first time, 50% in once a year, 50% in twice a year donation had serum ferritin levels <15 ng/ml.Conclusions: In this study, there was a definite correlation between dwindling of serum Ferritin level and the frequency of donation. As a part of donor haemovigilance program, our study suggests estimation of serum ferritin level, iron supplementation and donor health education on balanced nutritious diet for at least female donors and regular male donors to maintain adequate donor pool

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Indigofera cordifolia leaf extract and their pharmacological potential

Biologically the silver nanoparticles were synthesized from Indigofera cordifolia leaves extract. The absorbance of the silver nanoparticles centered at four hundred and twenty nm, with respect to the surface plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles wavelength. XRD method proves, biosynthesized NPs would retain the face centered cubic (fcc) structure. In TEM image analysis, silver NPs morphology was spherical in shape. The composition of the silver nanoparticles was obtained by EDAX analysis method. FTIR analysis concluded that biosynthesis Ag NPs was observed at 1384 cm-1, with respect to –NO3 stretching arises from AgNO3. Ten types of bands are present in the broad emission because of organic matrix bound to silver nanoparticles, which reveals as the result of photoluminescence measurements. The silver NPs possess more antibacterial activity as compared to the standard drug, Amoxicillin

Thermodynamic and thermoelectric properties of high-temperature cuprate superconductors in the stripe phase

We examine the thermodynamic and thermoelectric properties in the stripe phase of high-Tc cuprates, by using the finite-temperature Lanczos technique for the t-J model with a potential that stabilizes vertical charge stripes. When the stripe potential is turned on, the entropy is suppressed as a consequence of the formation of one-dimensional charge stripes accompanied by an enhancement of antiferromagnetic spin correlation in the spin domains. The stripe formation leads also to weak temperature dependence of the chemical potential, leading to the suppression of the thermoelectric power. The suppression of the entropy and thermoelectric power is consistent with experimental data in the stripe phase of La_{1.6-x}Nd_{0.4}Sr_xCuO_4.Comment: REVTeX4, 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys.Rev.B Rapid Comm

Monitoring of Noctiluca Bloom in Mandapam and Keelakarai Coastal Waters; Southeast Coast of India

Monitoring the Harmful Algal Blooms was carried out during July to December 2008 in Mandapam and Keelakarai coastal waters of Tamil Nadu, Southeast coast of India. In the month of October several fishes and shellfishes were died due to Noctiluca blooms along these two areas. The present investigation the following species of phyto and zooplankton were found to be common; phytoplankton such as Coscinodiscus sp., Skeletonema costatum, Bacillaria paradoxa, Thallassiothrix frauenfeldii, T. longisima, Leptocylindrus sp., and  zooplankton such as Paracalanus parvus, Acrocalanus gracilis, Pseudodiaptomus serricautatus, Rhincalanus cornutus, R. nasutus, Euterpina acutifrons, Nannocalanus minor, Eucalanus attenuates, E. crassus, Fish larvae, Fish eggs, Barnacle nauplii, Bivalve larvae, Gastropod larvae, Copepod nauplii  and Mysis larvae. The hydrobiological parameters also analysed during bloom and after blooms; the dissolved oxygen (2.6 – 4.9µM L-1) nutrients varied between nitrate (0.66 – 1.01µM L-1) nitrite (0.11 – 0.21µM L-1) phosphate (0.51 – 0.86µM L-1) and silicate (0.81 – 4.2µM L-1)

SMART 7: recent updates to the protein domain annotation resource

SMART (Simple Modular Architecture Research Tool) is an online resource (http://smart.embl.de/) for the identification and annotation of protein domains and the analysis of protein domain architectures. SMART version 7 contains manually curated models for 1009 protein domains, 200 more than in the previous version. The current release introduces several novel features and a streamlined user interface resulting in a faster and more comfortable workflow. The underlying protein databases were greatly expanded, resulting in a 2-fold increase in number of annotated domains and features. The database of completely sequenced genomes now includes 1133 species, compared to 630 in the previous release. Domain architecture analysis results can now be exported and visualized through the iTOL phylogenetic tree viewer. ‘metaSMART’ was introduced as a novel subresource dedicated to the exploration and analysis of domain architectures in various metagenomics data sets. An advanced full text search engine was implemented, covering the complete annotations for SMART and Pfam domains, as well as the complete set of protein descriptions, allowing users to quickly find relevant information

Protective effects of solvent fractions of Mentha spicata (L.) leaves evaluated on 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide induced chromosome damage and apoptosis in mouse bone marrow cells

Spearmint leaves (Mentha spicata L.) contain high levels of antioxidants that are known to protect against both exogenous and endogenous DNA damage. In this study, the protective effects of the hexane fraction (HF), chloroform fraction (CF) and ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) in an ethanol extract from M. spicata were evaluated against 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4-NQO) induced chromosome damage and apoptosis in bone marrow cells of Swiss albino mice. Two (EAF; 80 and 160 mg/ kg body weight - bw) or three (HF and CF; 80, 160 and 320 mg/ kg bw) doses of solvent fractions or vehicle control (25% DMSO in water) were administered orally for five consecutive days. Upon the sixth day, 4-NQO was injected intraperitoneally. The animals were killed the following day. Other control groups were comprised of animals treated with either the vehicle control or the various doses of solvent fractions, but with no 4-NQO treatment. 4-NQO induced micro-nucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (MnPCEs) in all the test groups. However, pre-treatment of animals with the solvent fractions significantly reduced the 4-NQO-induced MnPCEs as well as the percentage of apoptotic cells. The reduction of both MnPCE and apoptosis was more evident following the pre-treatment of animals with 160 mg/kg bw EAF