Effect of environmental stress of low pressure on tyrosine aminotransferase and phenylalanine 4-hydroxylase activities in the rat.

Tyrosine aminotransferase activity in the liver increased about fourfold after 9h, on exposure of rats to stress of low pressure. 2. The phenylalanine hydroxylase activity increased about 60% on exposure for 24h or more. 3. An environmental pressure decrease of about 0.033 MN/m2 is needed to increase the activity of tyrosine aminotransferase. 4. Adrenalectomy completely abolished the increase in activity of tyrosine aminotransferase obtained on exposure to low pressure. 5. Treatment with cycloheximide or actinomycin D prevented the increase in activity of tyrosine aminotransferase. 6. Treatment with cycloheximide at the early part of exposure to stress prevented the increase in activity of phenylalanine hydroxylase obtained after 24h.

Effect of Mg addition on microstructural, mechanical and environmental properties of Nb-Si eutectic composite

The paper reports the effect of addition of small amount of Mg on the mechanical and oxidation properties of Nb-Nb3Si eutectic composites in Nb-Si system under the condition of suction casting. Mg addition increases the volume fraction of primary dendrites of Nb solid solution. This phase contains significant amount of strengthening precipitates. Two different precipitates are identified. The large plate shaped precipitates are that of hcp phase, while fine coherent precipitates have the structure similar to recently identified delta-Nb11Si2 phase. The Mg addition improves both the strength and ductility of the composite at room temperature (similar to 1.4 GPa and similar to 5% engineering strain) as well as at 700 degrees C(similar to 1.2 GPa and similar to 7% engineering strain). The presence of Mg results in a complex barrier layer which significantly increases the oxidation resistance up to a temperature of at least 1000 degrees C. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of environmental coupling on tunneling of quasiparticles in Josephson junctions

We study quasiparticle tunneling in Josephson tunnel junctions embedded in an electromagnetic environment. We identify tunneling processes that transfer electrical charge and couple to the environment in a way similar to that of normal electrons, and processes that mix electrons and holes and are thus creating charge superpositions. The latter are sensitive to the phase difference between the superconductors and are thus limited by phase diffusion even at zero temperature. We show that the environmental coupling is suppressed in many environments, thus leading to lower quasiparticle decay rates and better superconductor qubit coherence than previously expected. Our approach is nonperturbative in the environmental coupling strength.

LbL Fabricated Poly(Styrene Sulfonate)/TiO2 Multilayer Thin Films for Environmental Applications

Fabrication of multilayer ultrathin composite films composed of nanosized titanium dioxide particles (P25, Degussa) and polyelectrolytes (PELs), such as poly(allyl amine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(styrene sulfonate sodium salt) (PSS), on glass substrates using the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique and its potentia application for the photodegradation of rhodamine B under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation has been reported. The polyelectrolytes and TiO2 were deposited on glass substrates at pH 2.5 and the growth of the multilayers was studied using UV/vis speccrophotometer. Thicknes measurements of the films showed a linear increase in film thickness with increase in number of bilayers. The surface microstructure of the thin films was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope. The ability of the catalysts immobilized by this technique was compared with TiO2 films prepared by drop casting and spin coating methods. Comparison has been made in terms of film stability and photodegradation of rhodamine B. Process variables such as the effect of surface area of the multilayers, umber of bilayers, and initial dye concentration on photodegradation of rhodamine B were studied. Degradation efficiency increased with increase in number of catalysts (total surface area) and bilayers. Kinetics analysis indicated that the photodegradation rates follow first order kinetics. Under maximum loading of TiO2, with five catalyst slides having 20 bilayers of polyelectrolyte/TiO2 on each, 100 mL of 10 mg/L dye solution could be degraded completely in 4 h. The same slides could be reused with the same efficiency for several cycles. This study demonstrates that nanoparticles can be used in wastewater treatment using a simple immobilization technique. This makes the process an attractive option for scale up.

Effect of phosphate adsorption on the permeability of clays

In this paper, the effect of phosphate anion adsorption on the permeability values of homoionized kaolinite and montmorillonite clays is presented. The homoionized sodium, calcium and hydrogen clays are prepared by repeatedly washing the clays with 2N solutions of corresponding chlorides. Phosphate adsorption was induced by treating homoionized clays with phosphoric acids for different periods varying upto 1000 hrs. The coefficient of permeability of the clays was determined from one dimensional consolidation test results. The decrease in the permeability of kaolinite clays on phosphate adsorption has been explained on the fabric changes. For montmorillonite, both cation exchange and phosphate adsorption causes significant changes which are explained based on variation in the thickness of diffuse double layer.

Effect of inorganic ions, H(2)O(2) and pH on the photocatalytic inactivation of Escherichia coli with silver impregnated combustion synthesized TiO(2) catalyst

The photocatalytic antibacterial activity of Ag impregnated combustion synthesized TiO(2) (0.25 g/L) was studied against Escherichia coil in presence of UV irradiation. The effect of various parameters, such as anions, canons, hydrogen peroxide and pH, on the photocatalytic inactivation was investigated. The addition of inorganic ions showed a negative effect on inactivation. Among anions, the presence of chloride ions was observed to have a maximum negative effect and reduced the inactivation considerably. Among cations, the bacterial inactivation reduced significantly in the presence of Ca(2+) ions. Hydrogen peroxide addition in combination with Ag/TiO(2) photocatalysis, however, improved the inactivation. Photocatalysis with high concentration of H(2)O(2) yielded complete bacterial inactivation within few minutes. The photocatalytic inactivation of E. coil was not affected by variation in pH. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of particle size on performance of cathode materials of Li-ion batteries

Beginning with the ‘frog-leg experiment’ by Galvani (1786), followed by the demonstrations of Volta pile by Volta (1792) and lead-acid accumulator by Plante´ (1859), several battery chemistries have been developed and realized commercially. The development of lithium-ion rechargeable battery in the early 1990s is a breakthrough in the science and technology of batteries. Owing to its high energy density and high operating voltage, the Li-ion battery has become the battery of choice for various portable applications such as note-book computers, cellular telephones, camcorders, etc. Huge efforts are underway in succeeding the development of large size batteries for electric vehicle applications. The origin of lithium-ion battery lies in the discovery that Li+-ions can reversibly be intercalated into/de-intercalated from the Van der Walls gap between graphene sheets of carbon materials at a potential close to the Li/Li+ electrode. By employing carbon as the negative electrode material in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, the problems associated with metallic lithium in rechargeable lithium batteries have been mitigated. Complimentary investigations on intercalation compounds based on transition metals have resulted in establishing LiCoO2 as the promising cathode material. By employing carbon and LiCoO2, respectively, as the negative and positive electrodes in a non-aqueous lithium-salt electrolyte,a Li-ion cell with a voltage value of about 3.5 V has resulted.Subsequent to commercialization of Li-ion batteries, a number of research activities concerning various aspects of the battery components began in several laboratories across the globe. Regarding the positive electrode materials, research priorities have been to develop different kinds of active materials concerning various aspects such as safety, high capacity, low cost, high stability with long cycle-life, environmental compatibility,understanding relationships between crystallographic and electrochemical properties. The present review discusses the published literature on different positive electrode materials of Li-ion batteries, with a focus on the effect of particle size on electrochemical performance.

Effect of pore medium chemistry on hydraulic conductivity of fine grained soils

Hydraulic conductivity of fine-grained soils has assumed greater importance in waste disposal facilities. It is necessary to understand better the factors controlling hydraulic conductivity of fine-grained soils which are used as liners in waste disposal facilities. Hydraulic Conductivity study with ten soils with two fluids having extreme dielectric constants(epsilon) namely water and CCl4 has shown that intrinsic permeability (K) increases drastically with decrease in epsilon. These changes are attributed to the significant reduction in the thickness of diffuse double layer which in turn mainly dependent on the epsilon of the permeant. Hydraulic Conductivity with water of each pair of soils having nearly same liquid limit but different plasticity properties is found to be vastly different, but found to correlate well with shrinkage index, defined as difference between the liquid and the shrinkage limits. Also the ratio Kccl(4)/K-w is found to significantly increase with the increase in the shrinkage index.

Relative effect of slope and equilibrium line altitude on the retreat of Himalayan glaciers

It has been observed that a majority of glaciers in the Himalayas have been retreating. In this paper, we show that there are two major factors which control the advance/retreat of the Himalayan glaciers. They are the slope of the glacier and changes in the equilibrium line altitude. While it is well known, that these factors are important, we propose a new way of combining them and use it to predict retreat. The functional form of this model has been derived from numerical simulations using an ice-flow code. The model has been successfully applied to the movement of eight Himalayan glaciers during the past 25 years. It explains why the Gangotri glacier is retreating while Zemu of nearly the same length is stationary, even if they are subject to similar environmental changes. The model has also been applied to a larger set of glaciers in the Parbati basin, for which retreat based on satellite data is available, though over a shorter time period.

Comparative Studies on the Bioremediation of Hexavalent and Trivalent Chromium using Citrobacter freundii: Part I-Effect of parameters controlling Biosorption

The potential of Citrobacter freundii, a Gram negative bacteria for the remediation of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and trivalent chromium (Cr(III))) from aqueous solutions was investigated. Bioremediation of Cr(VI) involved both biosorption and bioreduction processes, as compared to only biosorption process observed with respect to Cr(III) bioremediation. In the case of Cr(VI) bioremediation studies, about 59 % biosorption was achieved at an equilibrium time of 2 h, initial Cr(VI) concentration of 4 mg/L, pH 1 and a biomass loading of 5x10(11) cells/mL. The remainder, 41 %, was found to be in the form of Cr(111) ions owing to bioreduction of Cr(VI) by the bacteria resulting in the absence of Cr(VI) ions in the residue, there by meeting the USEPA specifications. Similar studies were carried out using Cr(III) solution for an equilibrium time of 2 h, Cr(III) concentration of 4 mg/L, pH 3 and a biomass loading of 6.3x10(11) cells/mL., wherein a maximum biosorption of about 30 % was achieved.

Effect of mass loading on ionic polymer metal composite actuators and sensors

Ionic polymer metal composites (IPMC) actuator for flapping insect scale wing is advantageous due to its low mass, high deflection and simple actuation mechanism. Some of the factors that affect the actuation of IPMC are the amount of hydration in the polymer membrane and the environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity etc. In structural design, the attachment of wing on the IPMC actuators is an important concern as the attached wing increases the mass of actuators thereby affecting the parameters like displacement, stiffness and resonant frequencies. Such IPMC actuators have to produce sufficient actuation force and frequency to lift and flap the attached wing. Therefore, it is relevant to study the influence of attachment of wing on the actuator parameters (displacement, resonant frequency, block force and stiffness) and performance of the actuators. This paper is divided into two parts; the first part deals with the modeling of the IPMC actuators for its effect on the level of water uptake and temperature using energy based method. The modeling method adapted is validated with the experimental procedure used to actuate the IPMC. The second part deals with the experimental analysis of IPMC actuation at dry, wet and in water conditions. The effect of end mass loading on the performance of 20 Hz, high frequency actuator (HFA) and 8.7 Hz, low frequency IPMC actuators (LFA) and sensors is studied. The IPMC actuators are attached with IPMC flapping wing at its free end and performance analysis on the attached wing is also carried out.