Transitions to Nematic states in homogeneous suspensions of high aspect ratio magnetic rods

Isotropic-Nematic and Nematic-Nematic transitions from a homogeneous base state of a suspension of high aspect ratio, rod-like magnetic particles are studied for both Maier-Saupe and the Onsager excluded volume potentials. A combination of classical linear stability and asymptotic analyses provides insight into possible nematic states emanating from both the isotropic and nematic non-polarized equilibrium states. Local analytical results close to critical points in conjunction with global numerical results (Bhandar, 2002) yields a unified picture of the bifurcation diagram and provides a convenient base state to study effects of external orienting fields.Comment: 3 Figure

Histological alterations in the hepatopancreas of Penaeus monodon Fabricius (1798) given aflatoxin B1-incorporated diets

Aflatoxin is a toxic contaminant produced by toxigenic fungi of the genus Aspergillus during the processing and storage of feeds and feed ingredients. Aflatoxins can cause abnormalities such as poor growth, physiological imbalances and histological changes that result in a reduction in the yield and profitability of shrimp culture. Histological changes in Penaeus monodon sub-adults fed different doses of aflatoxin B1 were studied. The doses of aflatoxin B1 administered in the diets were 50, 100, 150, 500, 1000 and 2000 ppb. At the end of the fourth and the eighth weeks of the experiment, the shrimps were sampled and the cephalothorax was observed for histological changes. Significant changes were observed in the different treatment groups at the fourth and eighth weeks. The severity of pathological changes was proportional to the increase in the concentration of aflatoxin fed to the shrimps. Histological changes in the hepatopancreas were loss of structure of the cells and tubules, nodule formation, cell elongation, desquamation, rounding of cells, fibrosis, necrosis, haemocytic infiltration and cellular inflammation

Review: Microbial degradation of toluene

Zephirus environment is polluted by the toluene from profuse range industries. In spite of positive potential application, toluene results in many mishaps especially health hazards; hence amputation of toluene is crucial for human welfare as well as environmental issues. This review deals with destruction of toluene using microbial degradation. The overall aerobic biodegradation of toluene into carbon dioxide, water and biomass by bacteria, fungi and mixed culture has been studied comprehensively. Biodegradation technique has a promising prospective for the reason that it results in effective and economical treatment than traditional techniques. The amputation of toluene contributes to an assortment of various techniques utilized at various levels of investigation which are characterized based on quantification techniques. A comparison of the removal capacity based on continuous and batch mode of operations was studied proficiently. This methodology opens up a window for future exploration in field of biodegradation of toluene.Key words: Toluene, biodegradation, microorganism, health hazards, bioreactor

ANALYSIS OF T – BEAM BRIDGE DECK SLAB

Generally, structures are subjected to two types of load: static and dynamic. However, the majority of civil engineering structures are designed with the assumption that all applied loads are static. The effect of dynamic load is not considered because the structure is rarely subjected to dynamic loads; more so, its consideration in analysis makes the solution more complicated and time consuming. This feature of neglecting the dynamic forces may sometimes become the causes of disaster, particularly in the case of earthquake. Therefore it is proposed to do “dynamic analysis of bridge deck†for various span of bridge by varying number of longitudinal girders. The detailed study is carried out for “T-Beam Bridgeâ€, for various span 16m, 20m, 24m and 28m under IRC class AA loading condition

Identification of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the queenless, ponerine ant Diacamma ceylonense

Diacamma ceylonenseis a queenless, ponerine ant whose colonies are headed by a single, mated, egg-laying worker referred to as the gamergate. Thus, new colonies are a result of dispersal by wingless gamergates. This is expected to influence patterns of colony dispersal and spatial distribution of genetic variablity. In order to facilitate the study of population genetic structure we have identified six unique, polymorphic, microsatellite loci. We have used fluorescence tagged primers to detect polymorphism at these loci

Geometric quantum computation using fictitious spin- 1/2 subspaces of strongly dipolar coupled nuclear spins

Geometric phases have been used in NMR, to implement controlled phase shift gates for quantum information processing, only in weakly coupled systems in which the individual spins can be identified as qubits. In this work, we implement controlled phase shift gates in strongly coupled systems, by using non-adiabatic geometric phases, obtained by evolving the magnetization of fictitious spin-1/2 subspaces, over a closed loop on the Bloch sphere. The dynamical phase accumulated during the evolution of the subspaces, is refocused by a spin echo pulse sequence and by setting the delay of transition selective pulses such that the evolution under the homonuclear coupling makes a complete $2\pi$ rotation. A detailed theoretical explanation of non-adiabatic geometric phases in NMR is given, by using single transition operators. Controlled phase shift gates, two qubit Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm and parity algorithm in a qubit-qutrit system have been implemented in various strongly dipolar coupled systems obtained by orienting the molecules in liquid crystal media.Comment: 37 pages, 17 figure

Assessment of Radon in groundwater and associated human risk from Sankarabarani River Sub Basin, Southern India

Radon (222Rn) and associated human risk assessment in groundwater from quaternary shallow aquifers of Sankarabarani River sub basin, Southern India has been attempted by considering 41 groundwater samples and analysed for 222Rn using scintillation Radon monitoring system. The Radon ranges between 0.140±0.01 Bq l-1 to 7.869±0.33 Bq l-1 with an average of 1.797±0.12Bq l-1 and found to be within the maximum contamination level of Environmental Protection Agency (11.1 Bq l-1). The doses of ingestion and inhalation calculated for radon varies between 0.709 µSv y-1 to 39.933µSv y-1 with an average of 9.121µSv y-1which is within the prescribed dose limit of 100µSv y-1 by World Health Organisation. Uranium speciation attempted suggests saturated Haiweeite and Soddyite as sources for uranium/radon into the aquifer systems. The Eh-pH diagram suggests uraninite solubility within the pH ranges 6 to 8 within the groundwater environment