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In the geochemical analysis of charnockite matrix, PIXE results do not show either the minor or traces of thorium and uranium even though they are present in that charnockite composition. Because of a continuous range of elements in charnockite composition and characteristic X-rays of some elements present at similar to characteristic X-rays of thorium and uranium. Therefore, Th and U traces quantification are limited due to the interferences in the PIXE spectrum at similar characteristic X-ray energies of the elements. Otherwise, it is possible for quantification, if the composition does not contain the elements at similar characteristic X-rays of Th and U or using complementary techniques.

We report the effect of partial substitution of Dy3+ rare earth ion in NBT-BT lead free ceramics on its structural, microstructural, ferroelectric and dielectric phase transitions. The Rietveld refined X-ray diffraction analysis revealed a coexistence of dual phase with major monoclinic (Cc) along with minor tetragonal (P4mm) in all Dy-NBT-BT ceramics. The T-dependent dielectric broad band spectroscopic study revealed that Dy-substituted NBT-BT ceramics exhibits two diffuse dielectric anomalies renowned as Ferro (FE) to anti Ferro (AFE) i.e., depolarization phase transition ( $$T_{d}$$ ) and Antiferro (AFE) to paraelectric (PE) i.e., curie phase transition ( $$T_{C}$$ ), below 150 °C and well above 300 °C temperature regions respectively. The complex frequency dependent dielectric and modulus spectroscopy analysis supports the Non-Debye type dielectric relaxation process was dominated for all the measured ceramics. T-dependent AC-conductivity study revealed, thermally activated charge carries and single ionized oxygen vacancies are found to contribute conduction process at different temperature regions. Room temperature polarization hysteresis (P–E) loops analysis exposed a slim asymmetric shape with Dy substitution increasing that indicates conversion of hard to soft ferroelectric character. Remnant polarisation ( $$P_{r}$$ ) and coercive field ( $$E_{c}$$ ) decreases with dopant concentration shows the tetragonality dominance with Dy substitution. Furthermore, an optimum recoverable energy density 1.477 J/cm3 was obtained in NBT-BT at Dy = 0.03 compositions that designate the materials could be useful for future high energy storage density applications.

Polypharmacy is a common occurrence in elderly patients due to reasons like multiple co-morbdiities, multiple drug prescribing physicians. Adverse drug reactions (ADR) are most frequently observed among the elderly as the responsiveness to the drugs is altered due to number of age related confinement. In the present study we plan to identify the ADRs in elderly due to polypharmacy. Objectives: 1. To assess the rationality of prescription based on WHO criteria and Beers criteria. 2. To identify the adverse drug reactions occurring in the elderly as a result of polypharmacy. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was conducted in the department of General Medicine, Anil Neerukonda Hospital, attached to NRI Institute of Medical Sciences, Sangivalasa, Visakhapatnam. The study period was (Sep & Oct) for 2 months in 2016. The patient prescriptions analyzed were 30. The inclusion criteria were >65yrs of both sexes and prescribed more than 5 drugs. The details of drugs collected were analyzed according to WHO/INRUD indicators. Results: Study showed that, polypharmacy involving hypertension associated with diabetes and respiratory disorders receiving 10.4 drugs per patient. About 53.3% of the patients received more than ten drugs per day. The most common medical diagnosis associated with polypharmacy was respiratory disorders with 39.7% and number of drugs was 10 in that group. About 18.9% of the drugs prescribed were potentially harmful drugs according to Beers list. The incidences of ADRs were 16.4% among the total patients, majority being type 1 ADRs. Conclusion: The polypharmacy seen in majority of elderly patients was inappropriate. The average number of drugs per prescription was high (>10). Many adverse drug reactions were noted according to beers list. The prescription pattern for geriatric age group should be by generic name and rational prescription should be followed. Keywords: Adverse drug reaction, Geriatric, Polypharmacy

Ho-modified NBT-BT ferroelectric ceramics were synthesized by a conventional solid state reaction. The changes in crystal structure and identification of functional groups in the prepared ceramics ...

It has been an argument that some of the elements present in geological material by using PIXE analysis are purely determined or could not be determined at all, due to various reasons including the matrix. It is felt that a systematic investigation needs to be designed and implemented to understand the limitation of PIXE in certain elements. The high-grade rocks selected are analyzed both by PIXE as well as AAS and the results are authenticated by using a USGS reference material, Basalt, studies of literature. It is believed that the accuracy of problematic elements, especially from high grade rock can be improved and the conditions of PIXE can be standardized for various elements under different combinations. The reasons behind the poor performance of Proton Induced X- ray Emission in case of certain elements have been established.

The present article discusses a cost effective technique for the detection and quantification of copper ion by using localized surface Plasmon resonance (LSPR) based fiber optic technique. For the purpose, a small portion of a plastic optical fiber is functionalized with gold nanoparticles which are modified with 4-mercapto benzoic acid (4-MBA). The proposed is very successful in the detection of Cu2+ even in trace levels (ppb) in a wide range of real time samples. The results are comparable with the existing detection techniques.

Rhombohedral samarium doped Lead based ceramic materials were fabricated by a high temperature conventional solid state mixed oxide ceramic process. The ceramic composition Pb1-x-3y/2Bax Re y 3 + Nb2O6 (x = 0.35 and y = 0.00, 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06, Re3+ = Sm3+). The pure and Sm3+ doped lead barium niobate ceramic materials are single phase with rhombohedral(hexagonal) symmetry obtained from powder x-ray diffraction (XRD). The grain size has been measured for all the compositions and lying between 1.60 and 2.90 μm. Broad dielectric peak phase transitions observed with temperature in pure and Sm3+ ion modified lead barium niobate ceramic materials. It is observed that the high values of piezoelectric charge coefficients in d31 and d33 in Sm3+ doped lead barium niobate ceramics. The mechanical quality factor Qm and d33 increases with increase of Sm3+ ion concentration and indicating a highly polarisable lead ion contributing to high Curie temperature dielectric constant.

The Zr and Cu co-substituted Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 ferrite nanoparticles have been synthesized by the sol-gel auto combustion method. The XRD patterns confirmed single phase cubic spinel structure for present ferrite systems. The substitution of co-dopants in the spinel structure initially decreases the lattice parameter from x = 0.00 to 0.08 and thereafter increases and the same tendency reflecting in cell volume. The DC resistivity was initially increased later followed the decreasing trend; however the drift mobility of all ferrite samples appears to be in opposite phenomenon to DC resistivity. The saturation magnetization and net magnetic moments of all ferrite samples are decreasing with increasing dopant concentration. The coercive field and Y–K angles are increased with dopant concentration. The initial permeability of all samples is decreased with increasing dopant concentration. The Q-Factor for all samples shows the narrow frequency band with increasing frequency.

In farming operations, tillage is the primary and energy consuming operation. The purpose of the tilling the soil is to provide favorable soil conditions by cutting and inverting the soil for seeding or transplanting. Advanced tillage equipments are available in the market. However, poor farmers and the one with small farm size cannot afford them, as they are costly to buy and maintain. This paper briefly reviews the different types of plows used for preparing the land. Three types of simple reversible plow attachments have been designed. The materials and manufacturing processes to prepare these plow attachments is also discussed. The tractive and the thrust forces for these plow attachments are then estimated analytically.

Zr and Cu Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 ferrites have been prepared by the sol-gel auto combustion method using the nitrates. The ethylene glycol and citric acid were mixed as the combustion agents. The synthesized powders were calcinate at 800 °C for 3 h and they are pressed in desired shaped and sintered at 1200 °C for 2 h in air atmosphere. The X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the single phase cubic spinel structure. The SEM pictures revels that the substitution of higher valence ions results fine grained intragranular pore free microstructure. The dielectric properties of substituted ferrites exhibits decreasing trend at lower frequencies up to 1000 Hz beyond which it should in stable response. All the results are explained in terms of compositional and frequency variation.

Lithological variations, circular spectral anomalies, geological structures such as folds, faults, lineaments and shear zones of Kutch sedimentary basin were interpreted using IRS-LISS III satellite data. Aeromagnetic data was also interpreted qualitatively and quantitatively and a number of anomalous magnetic zones, faults, lineaments and domal structures were mapped. Magnetic basement depths and thickness of sediments were also computed. A number of alternate basement ridges/highs/uplifted blocks and depressions/lows/downthrown blocks were delineated. The information obtained from satellite remote sensing and aeromagnetic data were then integrated and the results were compared with published literature on gravity, magnetic (ground), magnetotelluric and seismic data, and also with field geology and well data. Structural controls in spatial domain (latitude, longitude and depth) were derived by establishing spatial relationship among different geological structures with reference to the geological time scale. Numerous horst and graben structures (ridges and sub-basins) as well as a number of master faults were delineated which serve as vital information with regard to hydrocarbon prospects and earthquake vulnerability, respectively. Based on the information obtained from this integrated study, a conceptual tectonometamorphic model along with sedimentation and igneous activity (ophiolitic and basaltic) has been constructed which has a significant bearing on the sequence of events that occurred during the deformational history of Kutch sedimentary basin resulting into the present day tectonic configuration.

The Sr2+ substituted 0.5(BiFeO3)-0.5(Ba0.90Sr0.10TiO3) ceramic has been synthesized by a conventional solid state reaction method. The structural analysis was carried out by room temperature x-ray diffraction and Raman spectra. The study reveals stabilization of tetragonal phase with P4mm space group. The coexistence of ferroelectric transition (TC = 270°C) and diffuse frequency independent dielectric anomaly at TN∼ 445°C were observed in temperature dependent dielectric studies. The simultaneous enhancement in ferroelectric polarization (Ps)∼9.4 µC/cm2 and magnetization Ms∼2.8 emu/g, at room temperature was observed, which indicates BFBST is a good multiferroic material for future spintronic device applications.

Single-phase Er/Yb co-substituted 0.94(Na0.4K0.1Bi0.5−x–yErxYbyTiO3)–0.06(Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3) $$(x = 0.01, \;y = 0.02\;{\text{and}}\; x = 0.02,\; y = 0.01)$$ (NKBT–BCZT) lead-free ceramics were synthesized by conventional solid-state reaction. The structural properties of the ceramics were confirmed with the help of X-ray diffraction studies. The crystal structure of NKBT–BCZT changed from rhombohedral to a morphotropic phase boundary and then to tetragonal phase in the presence of BCZT. The surface morphology of these ceramics was well packed with high-density and delineated grain boundaries which were confirmed with the help of the density of the samples. It was noted that the grain sizes decreased slightly by altering the Er/Yb compositions. The temperature dependence dielectric study revealed the existence of ferroelectric and antiferroelectric phase transformations in two independent regions. The temperature dependence conductivity study showed doubly ionized oxygen vacancies due to the presence of a defect dipole, which helps to promote ionic conductivity at a high temperature region. The observed room temperature P–E loops were identified from well-saturated slim loops having reduced coercivity which was found to be useful for potential applications in the field of energy storage devices.

The Zr and Co co-substituted Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 have been synthesized by sol-gel auto combustion method. The XRD patterns provide single phase cubic spinel with ( F d 3 ¯ m ( O h 7 )) space group and extra peaks found in XRD patterns from x = 0.24 to x = 0.4. The experimental lattice parameter is increased from 8.3995A to 8.4129 A and the theoretical lattice parameter is increased from 8.3948A to 8.4130A with increasing dopant concentration. The substitute ions in place of ferric ions cause the significant changes in all structural parameters. The D.C resistivity is increased from 126597 Ω-cm to 684229 Ω-cm and the drift mobility is decreased from 4.9×10−36 cm2/V-s to 1.88× 10−36cm2/V-s with increasing dopant concentration. The activation energy is decreased from 0.2108 eV to 0.0905 eV with increasing doping concentration. The saturation magnetization is decreased from 71.1559 emu/gm to 28.2405 emu/gm and the net magnetic moment is decreased from 6.3556 Bhor magnetons to 2.5523 Bhor magnetons with increasing dopant concentration. The Y-K angles are increased from 20.0723 to 59.4274 with increasing dopant concentration. The anisotropy constant has increased from 100 to 351 with increasing dopant concentration. The permeability is decreased from 117 to 19.4524 with increasing dopant concentration.

Polycrystalline solid solution of (1-x)Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 - xLaFeO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.50) samples were prepared by a conventional solid state process. The crystal structure of the samples transformed from tetragonal structure with P4mm space group (for x 0.35) alongside Morphotropic phase boundary region of 0.2 ≤x ≤ 0.35 samples. The evolution in Raman modes also indicated structural phase transition of the samples and corroborated the XRD findings. An increase in grain size with increase of LaFeO3 concentration up to x = 0.30 was observed. The ferroelectric properties were strongly dependent on composition and were correlated to the crystal structure of the samples. An enhancement in magnetization along with weak ferromagnetic hysteresis loops could be the presence of long range superexchange interaction via Fe3+ − O − Ti − O − Fe3+ along the pathway. Dielectric anomalies near magnetic transitions were observed for the samples with x = 0.25 and 0.35 at temperatures 293 °C and 318 °C respectively, were ascribed to presence of strong magnetoelectric coupling. The observed dielectric relaxation in loss data attributed to hopping of oxygen vacancies.

Treatment of obesity and its associated immune mediated diseases is challenging due to impaired function of leptin system. Thus leptin is providing an interesting target for therapeutic intervention. Leptin, an adipose tissue-derived adipokine, displays a variety of immune functions, and regulate both innate and adaptive immune responses. The increased secretion of leptin (hyperleptinemia) and production of proinflammatory cytokines has been implicated in the pathogenesis of obesity-related immune diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, atherosclerosis, cancer, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, crohn's disease and multiple sclerosis. These disorders are managed through antibiotics and by cytokines replacement. However, the effectiveness of cytokines coupled to the complexity of the cytokine network leads to severe side-effects, which can still occur after careful preclinical evaluation. In addition, synthetic immunotherapeutics carries a degree of risk, is time-consuming and expensive. Hence, the complexity of existing therapy and adverse effects emphasizes the need of an alternative approach for the management of immune dysfunction associated with obesity and its related diseases. For the aforementioned diseases that are related to leptin overabundance, new drugs blocking leptin signaling need to be generated. The research on the discovery of clinically important novel compounds from natural source is expanding due to their safety and no side effect. The fungal endophytes are the microbes that colonize internal tissue of plants without causing negative effects to the host. They produce plethora of substances of potential use to modern medicinal and pharmaceutical industry. The increasing body of evidence associated with application of bioactive metabolites derived from fungal endophytes in diverse disease states merits its use as therapeutic drugs. In particular, the saponins have been extensively proved to modulate the immune system, which has raised a significant interest in their potential as immunomodulators. Thus, our hypothesis is that the saponins derived from fungal endophytes can be explored as clinical applicable leptin inhibitors for treating immune mediated diseases.

Nickel zinc nanoparticles NixZn1-xFe2O4 (where x= 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6 and 0.8) by Chemical Co-Precipitation method. The samples were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), TEM, VSM .The powders of XRD patterns confirm a single spinel crystalline phase with cubic structure formation with no indication of any other secondary or unidentified phase. The lattice parameter changed from 8.336 Å to 8.382 Å. The average particle size ranged 20 to 80 nm was observed by TEM.

A polycrystalline ceramic of lead barium niobate ceramics doped by gadolinium with the stoichiometric formula Pb1−x−3y/2 BaxRey3+Nb2O6 (x = 0.35 and y = 0.00, 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06, Re3+ =Gd3+) has been prepared by conventional solid state reaction technique. The pure and unmodified lead barium niobate ceramic materials are single phase with tetragonal structure obtained from powder x-ray diffraction. The increase of rare earth ions concentration in PBN ceramics does not affects the tetragonal structure but affected cell volume. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies in these materials revealed fine grains are spherical in shape and obtained the grain size in all the compositions ranging between 2.32-2.90 µm. The broadening of the dielectric peaks is due to the structural disorder and compositional fluctuations in solid solutions. Broad dielectric peak phase transitions observed with temperature in pure and Re3+ ions modified lead barium niobate ceramic materials. The maximum value d33=250pC/N was observed in PBGN-3 composition. The maximum d31value found in PBGN-3 is 90 pC/N.

Now a day Cloud Computing is rapidly using computing technology. For low cost and high-end benefits this cloud computing is utilized. The major issue in this cloud computing is Ensuring the security, because the often store sensitive data with third party cloudproviders but these providers may beuntrusted.Working with single cloud is prevented, because in customer’s perception the failure in service availability and thepossibility of viciousgang in single cloud. To overcome these types of failures, a recent and popular technology is emerged called cloud of clouds or multi clouds or inters clouds. In this paper we illustrated the recent research towards multi clouds from single cloud and addressed possible solutions in security concern.Here we used the SSS (Secret Key Sharing) technique to share the key between servers. From this we can found that there is less attention in the field of multi cloud security compare with single cloud providers. The main intention of this work is to reduce the security risks related to cloud users and to encourage theuse of cloud- of -clouds due to its ability.

NiMo catalysts were prepared on different hetero atom doped SBA-15 supports for hydrotreatment evaluation. The nature of the hetero atom (Ti, Zr and TiZr) was observed to have a profound impact on the final molybdenum phase formed after calcination of the catalysts. Mo L 3 edge XANES analysis of the catalysts along with results from Raman and XRD, show that Zr-SBA-15 support is able to disperse the Molybdenum oxide phase better than the other supports. The formation of bulk phases viz., MoO 3 and NiMoO 4 is accelerated in pure SBA-15 supports. Evidence of Mo present as tetrahedral MoO 4 units was only found in TiZr-SBA-15 support. The presence of tetrahedral Mo species on TiZr-SBA-15 support was attributed to be due to the relative positive charge on the Zr site arising from the electronegative difference between Ti and Zr leading to [MoO 4 ] 2− stabilization. Sulfidation studies of the catalysts revealed that formation of active NiMoS phase is maximum in Zr-SBA-15 support and minimum in the SBA-15 supported catalysts. The low sulfidation of Mo in SBA-15 and TiZr-SBA-15 was due to the presence of bulk MoO 3 phase. The hydrotreating activities were in confirmation with the characterization studies, with NiMo/Zr-SBA-15 and NiMo/Ti-SBA-15 exhibiting highest HDS and HDN conversions respectively.

SBA-15 supported NiMo hydrotreating catalysts with different EDTA/Ni molar ratio were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation method. Hydrotreating activities of these catalysts were studied with Athabasca bitumen derived light gas oil and comparison was done with NiMo/SBA-15 and NiMo/γ-Al2O3 catalysts. A beneficial effect of chelating ligand was seen in hydrotreating activity and 28% increase in HDS of LGO was found as compared to NiMo/γ-Al2O3 in the case of EDTA/Ni molar ratio 4. Detailed mechanistic aspect of interaction between support – EDTA (ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid), EDTA-metallic species, support – metal, metallic species – metallic species at different reaction conditions is studied at different process parameters by using different characterization techniques such as X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), HRTEM, XRD, Raman, temperature programmed reduction (TPR), ICP-MS, CO chemisorption and N2 adsorption. A detailed scheme has been developed to explain the behavior of chelating agent in mesoporous SBA-15 supported catalysts. HRTEM results explain the high dispersion of Ni and MoS2 active phases in sulfided state even though big crystallite of MoO3 was seen in oxide state characterized by XRD and Raman spectra which explains role of EDTA in redistribution of active phases during sulfidation. XANES technique is used as predominant method for atomic level study of various structural changes in sulfided and oxide catalysts to find out the appropriate mechanism of the reaction. Characterization by XANES reveals that the presence of chelating agent delayed Ni2+ sulfidation which is main cause of improvement in HDS and HDN activity of the catalysts prepared in presence of organic chelates. Nickel sulfidation starts only when the EDTA–Ni complex decomposes and released nickel atoms move to the reactive edges of the MoS2 to form a finely dispersed sulfide Ni Mo S type II active phase.

Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations were carried out in order to understand the effect of temperature and hydrogen-to-hydrocarbon ratio on the yield and selectivity of ring opening products that are obtained from hydrocracking of decalin. Thermochemical analysis of single hydrocracking reactions involving selected alkanes and naphthenes indicates that endocyclic cracking of naphthenes is less favored than acyclic and exocyclic cracking reactions due to entropy considerations. The equilibrium calculations were performed in the temperature range 298–800 K at a pressure of 1 bar for a mixture of compounds obtained from hydrocracking of decalin using the assumption that the reaction mixture behaves as an ideal gas. The quantum chemical method G3MP2 was used to calculate the standard Gibbs free energy of formation for compounds for which thermochemical data are so far unavailable in the open literature. The results from equilibrium calculations indicate that, as long as cracking (CR) and dehydrogenation (DH) products are allowed to form simultaneously, total ring opening (TRO) products cannot be present in the reaction mixture in appreciable concentrations. If the pathways leading to the formation of CR products are excluded from the equilibrium calculations, the yield of TRO products reaches a significant value of ∼0.75 kg/kg decalin fed in the temperature range 400–500 K. The highest yield of TRO products, ∼1 kg/kg decalin fed, observed for a hydrogen-to-hydrocarbon ratio of 4 in the temperature range

Glass samples of the system (100 − x) (0.5 Li2O–0.2Al2O3–0.3P2O5) + xSeO2 (x is ranging from 0 to 12 mol%, labeled as LAPS x ) were prepared using the melt quenching technique. FTIR spectral studies indicate that selenium ions mostly occupy network modifying sites due to isolated selenite (SeO3 2−) groups up to 6 mol% of SeO2 (LAPS6) in the LAPS glass network. This has a tremendous effect on the electrical properties. Glass forming ability parameter (K gl) and the glass transition temperature (T g) of LAPS samples were characterized by DTA traces. Electrical measurements were carried out as a function of frequency and temperature over the frequency range of 10 Hz to 106 Hz and a temperature range of 303–423 K. The electric modulus formalism was applied to study the relaxation behavior using the impedance data for all the samples at 303 K and also for analyzing the relaxation behavior of the highest conducting sample (6 mol% of SeO2) at different temperatures. An attempt has been made to relate the measured properties to the structural modifications due to the modifying effect of isolated selenite (SeO3 2−) groups in the glass network.

TiSBA-15 with high surface area and large pore diameter with variable Si/Ti molar ratios of 20, 40, and 80 were synthesized and used as supports for NiMo catalysts. TiSBA-15 supports and NiMo/TiSBA-15 catalysts were extensively characterized by using XRD, N 2 adsorption analysis, FT-IR, Py-FTIR, Raman, TPR, SEM and TEM techniques. Results from XRD and IR measurements confirm the hexagonally ordered mesoporous structure and incorporation of Ti into the framework of SBA-15 support, respectively. TPR analysis confirmed that Ti incorporation resulted in better dispersion and more homogeneous distribution of octahedral Ni and Mo species on the support compared to NiMo/SBA-15. Hydrotreating experiments were conducted using coker light gas oil (KLGO) under industrial conditions of temperature, pressure, LHSV, and gas to oil ratio of 330–370 °C, 8.8 MPa, 2 h −1 , and 600 mL/mL, respectively. NiMo/TiSBA-15 catalysts showed very high catalytic activities of hydrodesulfurization and hydrodenitrogenation of KLGO than the NiMo catalysts prepared by using SBA-15 and γ-Al 2 O 3 as support.

Mesostructured alumino-silcate (MAS) materials were synthesized from ZSM-5 nano-clusters and used as catalysts supports for the hydrotreatment of a model compound and real feed stock. Supports and catalysts were thoroughly characterized by using XRD, N 2 adsorption analysis, FT-IR, 27 Al MAS NMR, Raman, EXAFS and HRTEM techniques. The alumino-silicate materials exhibited different acid strength and textural properties depending on the duration of hydrothermal treatment of the zeolite seeds. Materials synthesized with low seeding time of 4 h showed properties similar to Al-SBA-15 prepared using the direct synthesis route, whereas material with high seeding time ( t seed = 24 h) resembled ZSM-5. The EXAFS study of the sulfided catalysts revealed that sulfidation was highest in the NiMo catalyst supported on mesoporous alumino-silicate synthesized from ZSM-5 seeds with 16 h of hydrothermal treatment (MAS-16). Hydrotreating experiments were conducted using model compound (DBT) at 325 °C and 600 psi as well as real feed stock (Coker light gas oil) at industrial conditions. Catalytic activity in the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) was found to be maximum for this particular catalyst (MAS-16). The same catalyst also gave higher hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) conversion than NiMo/γ Al 2 O 3 in the hydrotreating of Light Gas Oil.

A carbon-based acid catalyst was prepared by the sulfonation of partially carbonized de-oiled canola meal (DOCM), a by-product of canola seed processing. Partial carbonization of DOCM was carried out at 300 and 400 °C and the partially carbonized material prepared at 400 °C was steam activated to improve its surface properties. Four types of carbon catalysts were prepared using the partially carbonized material and DOCM by concentrated sulfuric acid treatment. The spectral and elemental analysis clearly indicated that the catalyst had enough acidic sites in the form of sulfonate groups having the ability to promote esterification reaction. The catalyst partially carbonized at 300 °C established various functional groups such as aromatic carbon atoms, phenolic-OH, COOH, and carbonyl groups on the surface as evidenced by the MAS 13C NMR and FTIR spectra. The catalyst produced by partial carbonization at 300 °C followed by sulfuric acid treatment showed better performance towards esterification of oleic acid and high FFA canola oil. The maximum conversion reached 93.8% after 24 h at 65 °C using 1:60 mol:mol of FFA to methanol and 7.5 wt.% of catalyst to FFA. The performance of the catalyst was reduced gradually during its recycling and reached to 40.5% at the end of 4th cycle.

SBA-15 with pore diameter greater than 10 nm was synthesized by varying the synthesis parameters and adding swelling agent hexane and inorganic salt ammonium fluoride. Direct and post synthesis modification methods were employed to incorporate aluminum in the framework of SBA-15. In the direct synthesis approach, the highest pore diameter achieved was limited to 7 nm, but post synthesis method was employed successfully to achieve high pore diameter catalysts. The pore structure of the synthesized SBA-15 did not collapse until 13 nm of pore diameter as confirmed from the small angle XRD and TEM. The prepared Ni–Mo catalysts with different pore diameters were screened for hydrotreating of heavy gas oil (HGO) in a trickle bed continuous reactor. The catalyst with 13 nm pore diameter gave highest conversion compared to other catalysts.

A serious of glass samples according to the formula (100 − x) (0.5 Li2O − 0.2Ga2O3 − 0.3P2O5) + x SeO2 (x = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 mol%), labeled as LGPSx (x is the mole percent of SeO2) were synthesized through melt quenching technique. Glass transition temperature Tg and Hurby’s parameter for the prepared LGPS samples were characterized by DSC Traces. FTIR and Raman spectra indicated that SeO2 acts as either glass modifier (SeO32−) or glass former (SeO42−) as the composition of SeO2 changes. The best bulk conductivity, the highest conductivity is achieved by the LGPS10 sample (σ = 1.605 × 10−6 S/cm, at 303 K). The variation of conductivity with frequency of glass samples was explained in the light of different oxidation states of selenium ions. The super curve in the scaling analysis suggesting the temperature independent relaxation phenomenon.

Pt-Ir/HY, Ni-Mo carbide/HY and Ni-Mo carbide/H-Beta catalysts were used to improve the fuel quality of Hydrotreated Light Gas Oil (HLGO). All the catalysts are well characterized by using BET, Elemental, TPR, TPD and XRD analyzers. Screening of the catalysts were done and observed that Ni-Mo carbide/HY is an effective catalyst for improvement in cetane index of HLGO. A 12 unit increase in cetane index was observed on Ni-Mo carbide/HY at 325 °C, whereas Ni-Mo carbide/H-Beta could not improve the cetane index effectively. The Pt-Ir/HY deactivates in three days even though its activity is comparable with that of Ni-Mo carbide/H-Beta. NMR analysis showed that the Ni-Mo carbide/HY catalyst improves the cetane index of the fuel by selectively converting the naphthenes to paraffins in the temperature range of 300–325 °C. Low cetane index was observed above 325 °C due to the dominance of dehydrogenation and secondary cracking reactions. Simulated distillation results indicated the presence of high percentage of naphtha fraction above 325 °C, which decrease the fuel quality due to their low cetane values. A first order kinetic model was proposed and the model was well fit with the experimental values. Arrhenius activation energies of 111, 89 and 42 kJ/g mol were observed for dehydrogenation, aromatic saturation and cracking reactions, respectively.

Selective ring-opening (RO) of decalin over the catalysts comprising of Pt-Ir and Ni-Mo carbide supported on HY and Hbeta was compared in a trickle bed reactor. The catalysts were synthesized by incipient wetness impregnation method and characterized by elemental analysis, BET surface area measurement, XRD, TPR and TPD of ammonia. XRD of the carbide catalysts showed no bulk molybdenum peaks and the structure did not collapse in the carburization process. TPD of ammonia showed a large amount of acidic sites on the HY-supported Pt-Ir and Ni-Mo carbide catalysts. The HY-supported Pt-Ir and Ni-Mo carbide catalysts showed higher RO activity and RO products selectivity than the corresponding Hbeta catalysts. The activity and selectivity of the Pt-Ir catalysts on H-Y are greater than Hbeta. A maximum RO yield of 33.5% was observed with the HY-supported Ni-Mo carbide catalyst. The yield and selectivity with the carbide catalysts supported on HY are comparable with that of HY-supported noble metal catalysts.

The present day world is witnessing the construction of very challenging and difficult Civil Engineering structures. Quite often, concrete being the most important and widely used material is called upon to possess very high strength and sufficient workability properties. Efforts are being made in the field of Concrete Technology to develop such concretes with special characteristics. Researchers all over the world are attempting to develop high performance concretes by using fibres and other admixtures in concrete upto certain proportions. In the view of the global sustainable developments, it is imperative that fibres like Glass, carbon, Poly propylene and aramid fibers provide improvements in Tensile strength, Fatigue characteristics, durability, shrinkage characteristics, impact, cavitation, erosion resistance and serviceability of concrete. Fibres impart energy absorption, toughness and impact resistance properties to FRC material, and these characteristics in turn improve the fracture and fatigue properties of FRC. Research in GFRC (Glass fibre reinforced concrete) resulted in the development of an alkali resistance fibre (AR Glass fibres High Dispersion) that provided improved long term durability. This system was named alkali resistance glass fibre reinforced concrete. In the present experimental investigation the alkali resistance Glass fibres has been used to find out workability , resistance of concrete due to acids , sulphates and Rapid chloride permeability tests of M 30 , M40 and M 50 grade of glass fiber reinforced concrete and ordinary concrete at the 28 and 90 days with varying percentages of glass fibres .

This work presents an analysis and comparison of Rectangular Patch antenna Arrays and Triangular Patch Antenna Arrays. Several Arrays namely 1×2, 2×1, 2×2, 4×1, 2×4, 4×2 of both Rectangular and Triangular shapes are analyzed using the HFSS Simulation Software Tool. The Antenna Parameters Gain, Directivity and Return Loss are analyzed. The Antenna Arrays are analyzed at a resonant frequency of 2.2GHz which are suitable for ISM Band, WLAN and Aerospace Applications.

A number of magnetic zones, faults, lineaments and domal structures were interpreted based on the analysis of aeromagnetic data. Magnetic basement depth and thickness of the sediments were computed by means of quantitative interpretation techniques. A number of alternate basement ridges/highs/uplifted blocks and depressions/lows/downthrown blocks were also delineated. The lithological variations, major folding and faulting patterns, circular spectral anomalies and other geological structures were interpreted from IRS-1C satellite data. The tectonic framework and deformational history of the basin were deduced. The results obtained from the interpretation of aeromagnetic and satellite data were then integrated and the potential zones of hydrocarbon deposits and vulnerable areas for earthquake occurrence were derived.

Role of free radicals has been proposed in the pathogenesis of many diseases. Gastric cancer is a common disease worldwide, and leading cause of cancer death in India. Severe oxidative stress produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) and induces uncontrolled lipid peroxidation. Albumin, uric acid (UA) and Bilirubin are important physiological antioxidants. We aimed to evaluate and assess the role of oxidative stress (OS) and physiological antioxidant system in stomach cancer patients. Lipid peroxidation measured as plasma Thio Barbituric Acid Reactive substances (TBARS), was found to be elevated significantly (p=0.001) in stomach cancer compared to controls along with a decrease in plasma physiological antioxidant system. The documented results were due to increased lipid peroxidation and involvement of physiological antioxidants in scavenging free radicals but not because of impaired hepatic and renal functions.