[en] Full text: Introduction: Double burden of malnutrition is prevalent in many countries all over the world. The co-existence of obesity and mineral deficiency conditions such as anaemia has been observed at the population level due to consumption of poor quality food. Rice is the staple food of more than half of the world’s population and greater than 3.5 billion people depend on rice for more than 20% of their daily calories. Malnutrition is reported to be highest in developing countries. Though, white rice is a good source of calories it is insufficient in many of the essential micronutrients. This problem needs to be resolved by using a solution which does not compromise on the peoples’ preference for their staple diet. Hence, there is strong need to identify and quantify micronutrient rich traditional rice varieties with good bioavailability. Methodology: Electronic databases Google scholar, Scopus, PubMed, Medline and Cochrane database were systematically and comprehensively searched for studies reporting micronutrient content and (OR) mineral bioavailability of rice varieties from different countries until April 2018. The search terms included the following combination of keywords: (“Micronutrients” OR “vitamins and minerals)” [All Fields]) AND (“Oryza sativa” OR “rice” OR “rice grain”) OR (“Pigmented Oryza sativa OR “pigmented rice” OR coloured rice). After screening, 28 relevant published scientific articles and 3 books were found. An additional search included the key terms (“Mineral bioavailability” OR “Mineral absorption”) AND (“Oryza sativa” OR “rice” OR “rice grain”) OR (“Pigmented Oryza sativa OR “pigmented rice” OR coloured rice) which resulted in 4 scientific published articles. Relevant information from traditional literature (3) and unpublished sources (7) was also included. Studies on genetically modified varieties were excluded. Results: The systematic review helped to ascertain the mineral content of over 178 rice varieties across the globe. Majority of the traditional pigmented and non-pigmented rice varieties have been reported to contain around 25 – 40 % higher mineral content (Ca, Fe, Mg, P, Zn etc.) and 16-18 % higher vitamin content (Vit E, β-carotene etc.) than the polished white rice varieties. Some of the nutrient rich traditional rice varieties include MR159 from Malaysia (K and Mg rich), IR72 from Malaysia (Zn rich), Chinese black rice Kala4 (Fe rich) and some Indian varieties Karungkuruvai (Fe and P rich), Neelam samba (Ca rich), Kalanamak (K rich), Njavara (Vitamin E rich) etc. Review revealed lack of mineral bioavailability studies in these rice varieties. Conclusions: The systematic review indicates that many indigenous and pigmented rice varieties to be micronutrient dense. These rice varieties have also been reported to contain varied health promoting compounds so they can also be used in nutrition intervention for combating the double burden of malnutrition. There is great need and scope for further research as there are many more indigenous rice varieties which need to be profiled for various essential micronutrients. Few recent have used stable isotope techniques for determining the mineral bioavailability in biofortified rice varieties. This method can be adopted to study the mineral bioavailability in nutrient dense indigenous rice varieties. (author)

[en] A detailed low-energy level scheme of the odd-odd n-rich nucleus _7_3"1"8"4Ta_1_1_1 is constructed using the well tested Two-Quasiparticle Rotor Model (TQRM) for calculating the bandhead energies of physically admissible 2qp configurations with the inclusion of residual n-p interaction contribution. The presently available data on this level scheme from "1"8"4Hf decay are shown to be in agreement with these calculations. Our analysis concludes that "1"8"4Hf (Q_β = 1340(30) keV) decay admits of 7 additional (to the 3 presently reported) β -branches to "1"8"4Ta with J = 0 or 1 and 8 more physically admissible weak (1f"u) β -branches populating J"π = 2"- levels in "1"8"4Ta. Further, a close examination of our level scheme clearly indicates the existence of a low-lying (E_x = 260(40) keV) high-spin (J"π = 10"-) long-lived isomer in this nucleus. (orig.)

[en] In an early survey of long-lived isomers in deformed nuclei, it was indicated that such isomers, particularly from the actinide region, are scarcely known, even though the physical considerations point to the existence of many such cases. Guided by this observation, undertaken herewith is a project to describe / predict the isomers in odd-odd nuclei of transuranic, and even the transfermium region. A comprehensive examination is done for the observed, and the expected, low-lying K=8 2qp structures in the transuranic region, aided by the latest available data listings

[en] Identification and characterization of level scheme of the odd-odd transitional nucleus "1"8"6_7_5Re_1_1_1 has been the subject of various studies ever since its first observation in 1969 as documented in the latest Nuclear Data Sheets (NDS2003) and subsequent reports. In view of the conflicting assignments, we proceed to characterize the low energy spectrum of "1"8"6Re, using the well tested Two Quasi-particle Rotor Model (TQRM) as demonstrated in our recent investigations on the neighbouring "1"8"4","1"8"6Ta isotopes

[en] The analysis of ¹⁵⁴Pm decay data provides a striking instance of such violation. β decay of ¹⁵⁴Pm (2.68m) populates 11 levels in ¹⁵⁴Sm; 68% of β-intensity populates a 987 keV J^π =3^- level with log ft = 5.3 while each of the other 10 β-branches has log ft ≥ 6.2. However, even though strong rule mandates negative parity for the parent ¹⁵²Pm isomer, NDS evaluators have not even tentatively considered such an assignment. Extensive evidence gathered to date leads to the conclusion that β-decay log ft value, by itself, cannot yield firm parity assignments. Certainly a sharp cut-off at log ft=5.9 for parity changing β-transitions is inadmissible

[en] In this study we have focused on a highly NCBM pair of K^π =4^- levels composed of (n₁⊗n₂) and (p₁⊗p₂) orbital pairs and experimentally observed in ¹⁶⁸Er spectra

[en] As a part of our ongoing investigations of level structures in odd-odd deformed nuclei, we present here a discussion of ₇₃¹⁷⁸Ta₁₀₅ levels. This report is a follow up of our recent studies of its odd-odd isotopic neighbours ^184,186Ta and isotonic neighbour ¹⁷⁶ Lu. Our investigations employ the well-tested 3-step Two Quasiparticle Rotor Model (TQRM) which has been extensively and effectively used to elucidate the level structures of odd-odd deformed nuclei of both the rare-earth and actinide regions

[en] Conversion electron and gamma spectroscopic measurements were carried out on the 160.44d ^177m Lu decay with a mini-orange electron transporter coupled to a Si(Li) detector and a large-volume HPGe detector. Conversion electron intensities and internal conversion coefficients of 32 transitions in the two nuclei were obtained by the Normalized Peak to Gamma method. Of these, many are being reported for the first time. Mixing ratios were determined for the M1 + E2 transitions of the rotational bands 7/2 ⁺[404 ] in ¹⁷⁷Lu, 7/2 ^-[514 ] and 9/2 ⁺[624 ] in ¹⁷⁷Hf populated by the isomer's decay. The value of the rotational parameter (g_K - g_R)/Q₀ was calculated for all the three bands. A revised decay scheme is proposed for ^177m Lu. (orig.)

[en] A recent survey of lifetimes of heavy nuclei revealed the surprising observation that in the trans-plutonium region, odd mass nuclei are generally longer-lived than their even-even neighbors. This was sought to be explained by analyzing the α-decay data. Extending this study with a focus on A > 250 nuclei, we find that the longest lived odd-mass nucleus in this domain is ²⁵¹Cf (t_1/2 = 898 y) and odd-odd nucleus is ²⁵²Es (t_1/2 = 471.7 d). Both these nuclei have N = 153, i.e., one nucleon beyond the shell closure. Normally one would expect the singly close shell (SCS) N = 152 isotones to be more stable/longer-lived. The comparative situation in respect of SCS (N = 152) nuclei and those with one extra neutron (with N = 153) is summarized. It is seen that, in all known cases, lifetimes of (SCS + 1n) nuclei are an order of magnitude larger than those of closed shell cases. On further analysis, it was found that α-decays of (SCS + 1n) nuclei have some other distinctive features which are briefly outlined in the present report

[en] Observation of Islands of Long-Lived Isomers (LLI), corresponding to ΔI>4 between the ground state (gs) and the excited state had played a vital role in establishing the validity of magic numbers and the (spherical) nuclear shell model more than 6 decades ago. Similar occurrences have been found for the nuclei of the deformed region. During recent years, several global compilations of nuclear isomers have been undertaken