[en] MoO₂ microspheres have been prepared through low temperature hydrothermal method using ammonium molybdate with hexadecylamine as surfactant at 180 deg C for 24 h. The obtained products are characterized by PXRD, FT-IR, UV-Vis and photoluminescence studies. Photoluminescence spectra of MoO₂ and MoO₃ microspheres show strong UV emission around 309 nm and intense yellow emission around 595 nm. The effect of calcinations on the phase of the product was also investigated. (author)

[en] Unrepaired or misrepaired chromosomal double-strand breaks (DSBs) can cause gross chromosomal rearrangements which eventually can lead to tumorigenesis through inactivation of tumor suppressor genes or activation of oncogenes. There are two major mechanisms of DSB repair: non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR). DSBs that are generated during S and G2 phase of the cell are preferentially repaired by sister chromatid recombination (SCR), an HR pathway that utilizes neighboring sister chromatid as a template. Since the copied information is accurate, SCR is potentially an error-free pathway. HR also plays a critical role in the repair of daughter strand gaps (DSGs) that arise as a result of replication fork stalling and facilitates replication fork recovery. Furthermore, in collaboration with nucleotide excision repair and translesion synthesis, HR is involved in the repair of DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs). Thus, HR is important for the maintenance of genome integrity and its dysfunction can lead to various genetic disorders and cancer

[en] Personal monitoring and dose assessment of all radiation workers is an essential regulatory requirement as per radiation safety procedures of AERB and operating stations. The occupational workers of TAPS 1 and 2 and TAPS 3 and 4 are monitored for internal contamination due to high energy gamma emitters by whole body counting

[en] Radiological monitoring of affected areas during nuclear emergency either caused by reactor accidents or by the explosion of radiological dispersal devices is essential for taking necessary counter measures. The absolute efficiency for CTZ detector was observed to be 30 to 300 times lower than 8% relative efficiency HPGe detector for the energy band of 80-1400 keV. The background of open detector was nearly zero counts in the region of greater 300 keV and 5-10 counts in 50-300 keV energy band for 1000 seconds counting duration. The paper discusses the feasibility of using portable Cadmium Telluride Zinc (CTZ) detector and spectrometer for the determination of composition of radionuclides in several environmental dietary items that may get contaminated. (author)

[en] Herein, we report a simple, economic and low-cost surfactant assisted sonochemical synthesis of ZnWO₄ nanoparticles. The structural and morphological features of nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. ZnWO₄ had been proven to be one of the most promising electrodes for energy storage and found that the discharge capacity was of 173mA h g^-1 even after 20 cycles at 0.1C rate. In addition to this, good photocatalytic degradation efficiency (98.6% in 120 minutes) was also achieved through Rhodamine B as a model of pollutant system.

[en] The electrical and current transport properties of rapidly annealed Dy/p-GaN SBD are probed by I–V and C–V techniques. The estimated barrier heights (BH) of as-deposited and 200 °C annealed SBDs are 0.80 eV ( I–V)/0.93 eV (C–V) and 0.87 eV (I–V)/1.03 eV (C–V). However, the BH rises to 0.99 eV (I–V)/　1.18 eV(C–V) and then slightly deceases to 0.92 eV (I–V)/1.03 eV (C–V) after annealing at 300 °C and 400 °C. The utmost BH is attained after annealing at 300 °C and thus the optimum annealing for SBD is 300 °C. By applying Cheung’s functions, the series resistance of the SBD is estimated. The BHs estimated by I–V, Cheung’s and Ψ _S–V plot are closely matched; hence the techniques used here are consistency and validity. The interface state density of the as-deposited and annealed contacts are calculated and we found that the N _SS decreases up to 300 °C annealing and then slightly increases after annealing at 400 °C. Analysis indicates that ohmic and space charge limited conduction mechanisms are found at low and higher voltages in forward-bias irrespective of annealing temperatures. Our experimental results demonstrate that the Poole–Frenkel emission is leading under the reverse bias of Dy/p-GaN SBD at all annealing temperatures. (paper)

[en] Facile ionothermal method has been employed to synthesize One-dimensional (1-D) mixed phase TiO₂ nanorods (NRs) using ionic liquid as the reaction medium. The PXRD pattern reveals the formation of mixed phase TiO₂ having 68.3% of anatase and 31.7% rutile phase with average crystallite size of ~ 10 nm. TEM images depict the average thickness of TiO₂ NRs are in the range 50–100 nm. The 1-D mixed phase TiO₂ NRs showed 5 times better hydrogen production activity than P-25 in the water-glycerol mixture under solar light irradiation. The reason could be the synergetic effect and unique optical properties of 1-D anatase–rutile TiO₂ mixed-phase system.

[en] Synthesis of molybdenum oxide/hexadecylamine (MoO₂/HDA) microspheres in aqueous solution has been investigated systematically by varying the concentration of the precursor, surfactant and reducing agent, as well as the reaction temperature and duration. To understand this, the nature of the solid has been probed by PXRD, FTIR, UV-visible and SEM equipped with an EDS. The PXRD patterns of as-prepared products reveal that MoO₂ microspheres are of monoclinic structure. The bands at 985 and 952 cm^-1 reflect the ν(Mo-O) stretch vibration of terminal -Mo^VI=O_t and -Mo^IV=O_t groups. UV-vis spectrum of calcined sample exhibits maximum absorption at 358 nm. SEM images reveal that the average diameters of the MoO₂ microspheres are in the range 1-3 μm. The reduction of the precursor yields a metastable poorly crystalline oxide of lower valence molybdenum, which is crystallized to α-MoO₃ on calcination to 400 deg. C

[en] Tarapur Maharashtra Site consists of two units (TAPS 1 and 2) of 160 MW(e) BWRs and two units (TAPS 3 and 4) of 540 MW(e) PHWRs in operation. Monitoring and dose assessment of all radiation workers is a regulatory requirement as per radiation safety procedures of operating stations based on AERB guidelines. Internal contamination and committed effective dose (CED) due to internally deposited gamma radionuclides is evaluated based on whole body counting measurements. The predominant nuclides of potential internal contamination continued to be ⁶⁰Co, ^134+137Cs and ¹³¹I. Apart from these, natural radionuclide ⁴⁰K is also detected in the body of occupational workers. It is one of the most important nutrients distributed throughout the body, mainly in muscle and is an essential element in life process. It is under close homeostatic control in the body and is not influenced by the environmental levels. The daily intake of natural radionuclides of uranium and thorium series is almost negligible compared with that of ⁴⁰K, a radioisotope of potassium present to the extent of 0.012 % of natural Potassium. It has a halflife of 1.28 x 10⁹ Y and decays by beta emission and electron capture accompanied by 1.46 MeV gamma ray emission with 10.7 % abundance. The specific activity of potassium is 31.5 Bq ⁴⁰K per gram of potassium. The paper presents the analysis of ⁴⁰K concentration in the workers of vegetarian and Non-vegetarian diet categories

[en] Vanadium oxide-based nanomaterials have been showing great promise as cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Among these, nanostructured V₂O₅ shows a high discharge capacity due to its layer structure and thermodynamically stable form. This work reports the synthesis of V₂O₅ nanoparticles via a simple low temperature hydrothermal method using ammonium vanadate and quinol. The reduced size of V₂O₅ has resulted in the blue shift of the absorption spectrum. The material has been examined as a cathode material to study lithium intercalation/deintercalation. It shows an initial discharge capacity of 310 mAh g^-1 at a current density of 0.1 mA g^-1 at 1.5-4 V and retains a specific discharge capacity of 184 mAh g^-1 even after 58 cycles. The present study manifests how the nanostructured size V₂O₅ could be applied as a high-energy cathode material for LIBs. (author)