Tracking and Monitoring of the Alignment System Used for Nuclear Physics Experiments

The ELI-NP (Extreme Light Intensity—Nuclear Physics) project, developed at the Horia Hulubei National Institute for RD in Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), has included one component dedicated to the study of interactions between brilliant gamma-ray and matter, with applications in nuclear physics and the science of materials. The paper is focused on the interaction chamber, an important part of the facility which hosts the experiment’s samples. The interaction chamber is endowed with a mobile sample support (holder), which automatically tracks the γ-ray beam. The γ-ray radiation source presents a slight variation of the direction of the emitted radiation in time. The built system ensures the permanent collimation between the γ-ray beam and the sample that is being investigated. This is done with two electric motors, which have a symmetrical movement with respect to the center of a rectangle. The specific measures taken by the design and implementation that permit to reach performances of tracking system are emphasized in the paper. The methodology considers the relative displacement between the detectors with which the laboratory is equipped and the absolute position in space of the sample boundary. The control of this motion is designed to respect the symmetry of the system. Both facets of the project (hardware and software) are detailed, emphasizing the way in which the designers ensured compliance with the system of real-time operation conditions of the tracking and monitoring system.

Land Inventorization at Tardi-Babhlaj Villages of Shirpur Taluka Maharashtra State using RS and GIS

Scientific evaluation of the land is essential in order to understand the suitability for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes and identification of capabilities and constraints of the land for various crops and their cultivation helps in appropriate and sustainable usage. In order to uplift the production, productivity as well as profitability from a farm land, the knowledge regarding various land resources and soil properties become pre-requisites. In this, direction, a land inventorization was carried out using RS and GIS techniques. The prime objective was to carry out land evaluation studies based on land based on land capability classification and suitability of lands for commonly cultivated crops in the region. Soil morphological features, physical, physico-chemical and fertility properties of the land were analysed and the results indicated that the soils are good in inherent properties even with the slight variation in the morphological and physicochemical properties. Land evaluation based on Land Capability Classification (LCC) revealed that, all the blocks fall under Class-IV with some of the limitations like, erosion, texture and low organic carbon content in soils. Suitability of land to the crops indicated that there are limitations with respect to erosion, slope and soil fertility. Based on the obtained results, corrective measures were suggested for all the blocks to reduce the erosion losses improve the soil properties for higher productivity of the cultivated crops. The study concludes that variation in soils in all blocks is due to the close relationship between soils, physiography and climate which are interrelated.

Comparing Recurrence and Retreatment of Three Doses of Bevacizumab in Treating Severe Retinopathy of Prematurity

Purpose: To determine recurrence and retreatment patterns after treatment of severe retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) with either 0.5 mg, 0.25 mg, or 0.125 mg of intravitreal bevacizumab for retinopathy of prematurity. Methods: In this retrospective chart review, data was examined for babies who had severe ROP and were treated with intravitreal bevacizumab doses of either 0.500 mg, 0.250 mg, or 0.125 mg at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis from 2014 to 2021. Data collected included demographic information, past medical history, and characteristics of ROP. The data was statistically analyzed using SPSS software. Results: One eye was analyzed for each baby. Out of 85 babies, 79 babies were included in the study. 26 babies were treated with 0.125 mg bevacizumab, 37 with 0.25 mg, and 16 with 0.5 mg. All babies showed initial response to the bevacizumab, with 61 babies (77.2%) receiving retreatment with laser for either recurrence or persistent avascular retina. While the babies treated with lower doses had higher percentages of retreatment (23 babies (88.5%) in the 0.125 mg, 29 babies (78.4%) in the 0.25 mg, and 9 babies (56.3%) in the 0.5 mg group), the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.069). Most of the retreatments were due to recurrence of ROP (0.125 mg: 20 (87.0%), 0.25 mg: 19 (65.5%), 0.50 mg: 8 (88.9%)) (p=0.339). On average, the babies in the 0.125 mg group were retreated with laser at 3.4 weeks earlier gestational age and 4.7 weeks sooner after initial treatment than the higher dosing groups, however, this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.181, p=0.287). Conclusion: The outcomes comparing three doses of intravitreal bevacizumab for severe ROP showed a slight variation in recurrence and retreatment patterns but no statistically significant difference in our study.

Mitogenomics and the Phylogeny of Mantis Shrimps (Crustacea: Stomatopoda)

Stomatopoda, commonly known as mantis shrimps, are notable for their enlarged second maxillipeds encompassing the raptorial claw. The form of the claw can be used to divide them into two basic groups: smashers and spearers. Previous phylogenetic studies of Stomatopoda have focused on morphology or a few genes, though there have been whole mitochondrial genomes published for 15 members of Stomatopoda. However, the sampling has been somewhat limited with key taxa not included. Here, nine additional stomatopod mitochondrial genomes were generated and combined with the other available mitogenomes for a phylogenetic analysis. We used the 13 protein coding genes, as well as 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA genes, and included nuclear 18S rRNA gene sequences. Different rooting options were used for the analyses: (1) single and multiple outgroups from various eumalocostracan relatives and (2) a stomatopod-only dataset, with Hemisquilla californiensis used to root the topologies, based on the current hypothesis that Hemisquilla is the sister group to the rest of Stomatopoda. The eumalocostracan-rooted analyses all showed H. californiensis nested within Stomatopoda, raising doubts as to previous hypotheses as to its placement. Allowing for the rooting difference, the H. californiensis outgroup datasets had the same tree topology as the eumalocostracan outgroup datasets with slight variation at poorly supported nodes. Of the major taxonomic groupings sampled to date, Squilloidea was generally found to be monophyletic while Gonodactyloidea was not. The position of H. californiensis was found inside its superfamily, Gonodactyloidea, and grouped in a weakly supported clade containing Odontodactylus havanensis and Lysiosquillina maculata for the eumalocostracan-rooted datasets. An ancestral state reconstruction was performed on the raptorial claw form and provides support that spearing is the ancestral state for extant Stomatopoda, with smashing evolving subsequently one or more times.

Fish Fauna of Kankai River of Jhapa District, Eastern Nepal

This study explored fish diversity in the Kankai River of the Jhapa district. Fishes were collected by cast net (mesh 0.5cm) from three sampling sites: Domukha, Kotihom and Bengdada in rainy and winter seasons. Water temperature, pH and water velocity were recorded at each site. A total of 20 fish species belonging to 4 orders and eight families were recorded. Cypriniformes has recorded as the dominant order with 16 species, followed by Siluriformes with two species and Perciformes, and Synbranchiformes with a single species each. The value of Shannon’s diversity Index (H’) was higher in winter (3.06; Domukha) than a rainy season (1.06; Bengdada), indicating higher diversity in winter than rainy season. Only a slight variation in pH was recorded during the study period, i.e. 7.9 (highest) and 7.8 (lowest). The highest and the lowest temperatures recorded in the rainy season were 280C and 270C, and that of winter were 170C and 150C. The highest and the lowest water current recorded in the rainy season were 0.75 m/s and 0.68 m/s, and that of winter were 0.55 m/s and 0.52 m/s. It should be noted that to have comprehensive fish diversity status, future investigation covering more seasons and more sampling sites is essential.

Cryptic subterranean diversity in Collembola indicates that Hot Spot in ferruginous rock may have serious implications in Brazilian conservation policy.

A super diverse hot spot of subterranean Collembola in ferruginous rock caves and Mesovoid Shallow Substratum is revealed by the analysis of cryptic diversity. The diversity is accessed by detailed description of chaetotaxy and slight variation in morphology of 11 new species of Trogolaphysa Mills, 1938 (Collembola, Paronellidae, Paronellinae) and the 49 previously recorded species of springtails from caves, using optical and electronic microscopy. When combined with recent subterranean surveys, our results show an important reservoir of cave diversity in the Mesovoid Shallow Substratum, contrasting with the conservation policy for subterranean fauna in metallogenic areas in Brazil which prioritizes the caves instead the cave species, which may be extremely detrimental to the fauna in the shallow subterranean habitats not accessible to humans.

Hydro-Physical Properties of Soils under Different Land Uses in Northeastern Nigeria

Evaluation of soil hydro-physical properties is very important in agriculture and for sustainable management of the land resources. This investigation was conducted to assess some hydro-physical properties of soils in different land use types (LUT) selected (i.e., dry upper land (UD), lowland (LL) and residential area (RA)) at 0-15cm and 15-30cm depths in Bade Local Government Area of Northeastern, Nigeria. Soils were randomly sampled at four points in each LUT and analyzed according to standard soil analysis procedures. Results of the analyses of variance showed that LL had recorded significantly higher clay content, larger soil porosities and high-water retention properties than the other LUT. Soil structural stability index (SSI) and organic carbon (OC) were below optimal range and statistically not different across the land uses. The results also indicated non-significant differences in the hydro-physical properties within the sampling depths. The coefficient of variation (CV) revealed that, slight variation (CV

Tunable microstrip liquid crystals patch antennas

A patch antenna based on liquid crystals for the5G GHz range was simulated. The variation of the antenna frequency range after doping magnetic nanoparticles was verified. The high-frequency patch antenna parameters are calculated considering the dependence of the reflectivity of the antenna 11 on the dielectric anisotropy, gain, directivity and phase shift. The ability to control the frequency range of the patch antenna is shown. The phase distributions were demonstrated for 5CB crystals with a slight variation in the dielectric constant tensor and crystals with magnetic permeability.

Response Analysis of the Tristable Energy Harvester with an Uncertain Parameter

In the stage of modelling, measuring, mechanical processing and manufacturing of the nonlinear energy harvesting system, deviations and errors of system parameters are inevitable. Even slight variation of key parameters may have a significant influence on the output voltages, especially for the multi-stable nonlinear case. Therefore, the investigation of dynamic behaviors for the tristable energy harvesting system with uncertain parameters is of important value both for research and application. In this paper, the uncertainty of a tristable piezoelectric vibration energy harvester with a random coefficient ahead of the nonlinear term is studied. By using the Chebyshev polynomial approximation, this tristable energy harvesting system is first reduced into an equivalent deterministic form, the ensemble mean responses of which are derived to exhibit the stochastic behaviors. The periodic and chaotic motions, bifurcations and crises under different conditions are analyzed. The results show that the output voltage is sensitive to the uncertainty of the nonlinear coefficient, which leads to unstable behavior around the bifurcation and crisis points particularly. Exploring the influence pattern of uncertain parameters on the output voltage and avoiding the unstable parameter intervals are essential for optimizing the structure. It can further improve the efficiency of the nonlinear energy harvesting system.

In Vitro Evaluation of Biologically Derived Hydroxyapatite Coatings Manufactured by High Velocity Suspension Spraying

This investigation aims to study a novel biologically derived coating applied on Ti alloy substrates. Obtained from a low-cost fish bone resource, a nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite has been synthesized and converted to an organic suspension. Coating was then manufactured by a high-velocity suspension flame spray process. The microstructure, phase composition, coating thickness, and roughness of hydroxyapatite (HA)-coated samples were studied. The results indicated the presence of both hydroxyapatite and β-tricalcium phosphate phases and the final coating layer was uniform and dense. In vitro bioactivity and biodegradability of the HA/Ti composite samples were estimated by immersion in simulated body fluid. Remarkable reductions in Ca2+ and PO43− ion concentrations were observed as well as low weight loss percentage and a slight variation in the pH value, indicating the generation of an apatite layer on the surface of all studied samples. Scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray analysis, and inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry confirm these results. Thus biological derived HA coatings are a promising candidate to enhance bioactivity and biodegradability of bone implants. To demonstrate feasibility on commercial medical components, a medical screw was coated and evaluated.