7,712 research outputs found
Composition of Jupiter irregular satellites sheds light on their origin
Irregular satellites of Jupiter with their highly eccentric, inclined and
distant orbits suggest that their capture took place just before the giant
planet migration. We aim to improve our understanding of the surface
composition of irregular satellites of Jupiter to gain insight into a narrow
time window when our Solar System was forming. We observed three Jovian
irregular satellites, Himalia, Elara, and Carme, using a medium-resolution
0.8-5.5 micro m spectrograph on the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). Using a linear
spectral unmixing model we have constrained the major mineral phases on the
surface of these three bodies. Our results confirm that the surface of Himalia,
Elara, and Carme are dominated by opaque materials such as those seen in
carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. Our spectral modeling of NIR spectra of
Himalia and Elara confirm that their surface composition is the same and
magnetite is the dominant mineral. A comparison of the spectral shape of
Himalia with the two large main C-type asteroids, Themis (D 176 km) and Europa
(D 352 km), suggests surface composition similar to Europa. The NIR spectrum of
Carme exhibits blue slope up to 1.5 microm and is spectrally distinct from
those of Himalia and Elara. Our model suggests that it is compositionally
similar to amorphous carbon. Himalia and Elara are compositionally similar but
differ significantly from Carme. These results support the hypotheses that the
Jupiter irregular satellites are captured bodies that were subject to further
breakup events and clustered as families based on their similar physical and
surface compositions
Glycemic Index Lowering Effect of Chicken Solids on Corn Starch
Glycemic index lowering effect of chicken solids was studied using a model system approach. Experimental samples were prepared by adding chicken powder at varying levels (10 mg, 20 mg, 30 mg, 40 mg) to 50 mg of corn starch as carbohydrate base. The chicken powder had a proximate protein content of 81.1 per cent, fat 9.1 per cent, ash 6 per cent and moisture 3.7 per cent. In vitro starch digestibility and estimated glycemic index (eGI) of the samples were estimated. It was found that only sample B and C could reduce the eGI of the sample by 22.8 per cent and 21.8 per cent respectively, with an eGI value of 68.05 and 68.9 respectively. Samples containing 30 mg and 40 mg chicken powder did not affect the eGI significantly and values were close to eGI values for the control (corn starch alone). It is concluded that chicken solids exhibit a significant (p < 0.05) glycemic index lowering effect at a level of 17 per cent to 29 per cent of the formulation, and not linearly with an increase in protein content
Mercury toxicity and detection using chromo-fluorogenic chemosensors
Mercury (Hg), this non-essential heavy metal released from both industrial and natural sources entered into living bodies, and cause grievous detrimental effects to the human health and ecosystem. The monitoring of Hg2+ excessive accumulation can be beneficial to fight against the risk associated with mercury toxicity to living systems. Therefore, there is an emergent need of novel and facile analytical approaches for the monitoring of mercury levels in various environmental, industrial, and biological samples. The chromo-fluorogenic chemosensors possess the attractive analytical parameters of low-cost, enhanced detection ability with high sensitivity, simplicity, rapid on-site monitoring ability, etc. This review was narrated to summarize the mercuric ion selective chromo-fluorogenic chemosensors reported in the year 2020. The design of sensors, mechanisms, fluorophores used, analytical performance, etc. are summarized and discussed
Modulated structure in the martensite phase of Ni1.8Pt0.2MnGa: a neutron diffraction study
7M orthorhombic modulated structure in the martensite phase of Ni1.8Pt0.2MnGa
is reported by powder neutron diffraction study, which indicates that it is
likely to exhibit magnetic field induced strain. The change in the unit cell
volume is less than 0.5% between the austenite and martensite phases, as
expected for a volume conserving martensite transformation. The magnetic
structure analysis shows that the magnetic moment in the martensite phase is
higher compared to Ni2MnGa, which is in good agreement with magnetization
measurement
Protons in the near-lunar wake observed by the Sub-keV Atom Reflection Analyzer on board Chandrayaan-1
Significant proton fluxes were detected in the near wake region of the Moon
by an ion mass spectrometer on board Chandrayaan-1. The energy of these
nightside protons is slightly higher than the energy of the solar wind protons.
The protons are detected close to the lunar equatorial plane at a
solar zenith angle, i.e., ~50 behind the terminator at a height of
100 km. The protons come from just above the local horizon, and move along the
magnetic field in the solar wind reference frame. We compared the observed
proton flux with the predictions from analytical models of an electrostatic
plasma expansion into a vacuum. The observed velocity was higher than the
velocity predicted by analytical models by a factor of 2 to 3. The simple
analytical models cannot explain the observed ion dynamics along the magnetic
field in the vicinity of the Moon.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figure
Conifers phytochemicals: A valuable forest with therapeutic potential
Conifers have long been recognized for their therapeutic potential in different disorders. Alkaloids, terpenes and polyphenols are the most abundant naturally occurring phytochemicals in these plants. Here, we provide an overview of the phytochemistry and related commercial products obtained from conifers. The pharmacological actions of different phytochemicals present in conifers against bacterial and fungal infections, cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are also reviewed. Data obtained from experimental and clinical studies performed to date clearly underline that such compounds exert promising antioxidant effects, being able to inhibit cell damage, cancer growth, inflammation and the onset of neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, an attempt has been made with the intent to highlight the importance of conifer-derived extracts for pharmacological purposes, with the support of relevant in vitro and in vivo experimental data. In short, this review comprehends the information published to date related to conifers’ phytochemicals and illustrates their potential role as drugs.This research was funded by University of Hradec Kralove (Faculty of Science VT 2019-2021)
Theoretical prediction and experimental study of a ferromagnetic shape memory alloy: Ga_2MnNi
We predict the existence of a new ferromagnetic shape memory alloy Ga_2MnNi
using density functional theory. The martensitic start temperature (T_M) is
found to be approximately proportional to the stabilization energy of the
martensitic phase (deltaE_tot) for different shape memory alloys. Experimental
studies performed to verify the theoretical results show that Ga_2MnNi is
ferromagnetic at room temperature and the T_M and T_C are 780K and 330K,
respectively. Both from theory and experiment, the martensitic transition is
found to be volume conserving that is indicative of shape memory behavior.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
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