In this research, a detailed analysis of the decay heat contributions of both actinides and non-actinides (fission fragments) from spent nuclear fuel (SNF) was made after 50 GWd·tHM−1 burnup of fresh uranium fuel with 4.5% enrichment lasted for 1,350 days. The calculations were made for a long storage period of 300 years divided into four sections 1, 10, 100, and 300 years so that we could study the decay heat and physical disposal ratios of radioactive waste in medium- and long-term storage periods. Fresh fuel burnup calculations were made using the code MCNP, while isotopic content and then decay heat were calculated using the built-in stiff equation solver in the MATLAB code. It is noted that only around 12 isotopes contribute more than 90% of the decay heat at all times. It is also noted that the contribution of actinides persists and is the dominant ether despite decreasing decay heat, while the effect of fission products decreases at a very rapid rate after about 40 years of storage.

It is crucial to be sure about the safety of nuclear facilities for human resources who are in danger of radioactive emission, also diminishing the volume of the wastes that are buried under the ground. Chemical decontamination of nuclear facilities can provide these demands at the same time by dissolving the oxide layer, which radionuclides such as 60Co and 58Co have been penetrated, of parts that are utilized in nuclear plants. Although there are many commercial methods to approaching its aim and they perform a high decontamination factor, they have some issues such as applying organic acids which have the ability to chelate with radionuclides that can be washed by underground water, have large quantities of radioactive waste and damage to the surface by severe intergranular attack. A new method has been introduced by KAERI’s scientist which is named the HyBRID Process, in this process the main solution is the acidic form of Hydrazine. In this process, like other acid-washing processes, there is a chance of corrosion on the metal surface which is not desired. The metal surface is able to be protected during dissolving process by adding some organic and inorganic corrosion inhibitors such as PP2 and PP3. There is a very new research topic about ionic liquids (ILs) as corrosion inhibitors which illustrates a vast potential for this application due to their tunable nature and the variety of options for cationic and anionic parts. The key factors for ILs corrosion inhibitors such as the hardness properties are summarized. In this study, we review to the fundamentals and development of corrosion inhibitors for chemical decontamination and give an prospect with emphasis on the challenges to be overcome.

This study assessed the utility of netted melon ‘Top Earl’s’ and cantaloupe melon ‘Alex’ as functional fruits by analysing their moisture content, vitreous sugar, folic acid, citric acid, and beta-carotene levels. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to analyse the free sugar, folic acid, citric acid, and beta-carotene levels. The moisture content was not significantly different between ‘Top Earl’s’ and ‘Alex.’ The glucose, sucrose, and fructose contents were three, two, and one-and-a-half fold higher in ‘Alex’ than in ‘Top Earl’s.’ Moreover, citric acid was approximately three times higher in ‘Alex’ than that in Top Earl’s.’ However, the folic acid content was higher in ‘Top ‘Earl’s’ than ‘Alex,’ and the amount was 124 μg / 100 g FW and 112 μg / 100 g FW respectively. ‘Beta-carotene was undetectable in ‘Top Earl’s,’ whereas it was 1000 μg / 100 g FW in ‘Alex.’ β-carotene, a substance that is converted in the body into vitamin A and acts as an antioxidant, is an important component in healthy food. These results suggested that the cantaloupe melon ‘Alex’ has a higher free sugar content and functional ingredients, such as antioxidants, including citric acid and beta carotene, than the netted melon ‘Top Earl’s.’

This study assessed the influences of fluorine introduced into DLC films on the structural and mechanical properties of the sample. In addition, the effects of the fluorine incorporation on the compressive stress in DLC films were investigated. For this purpose, fluorinated diamond-like carbon (F-DLC) films were deposited on cobalt-chromium-molybdenum substrates using radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor. The coatings were examined by Raman scattering (RS), Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analysis (ATR-FTIR), and a combination of elastic recoil detection analysis and Rutherford backscattering (ERDA-RBS). Nano-indentation tests were performed to measure hardness. Also, the residual stress of the films was calculated by the Stony equation. The ATR-FTIR analysis revealed that F was present in the amorphous matrix mainly as C-F and C-F2 groups. Based on Raman spectroscopy results, it was determined that F made the DLC films more graphitic. Additionally, it was shown that adding F into the DLC coating resulted in weaker mechanical properties and the F-DLC coating exhibited lower stress than DLC films. These effects were attributed to the replacement of strong C = C by feebler C-F bonds in the F-DLC films. F-doping decreased the hardness of the DLC from 11.5 to 8.8 GPa. In addition, with F addition, the compressive stress of the DLC sample decreased from 1 to 0.7 GPa.

Double-layer graphene nanoribbons promise potential application in nanoelectromechanical systems and optoelectronic devices, and knowledge about mechanical stability is a crucial parameter to flourish the application of these materials at the next generation of nanodevices. In this paper, molecular mechanics is utilized to investigate nonlinear buckling behavior, critical buckling stress, and lateral deflection of double-layered graphene nanoribbons under various configurations of stacking mode and chirality. The implicit arc-length iterative method (modified Riks method) with Ramm’s algorithm is utilized to analyze the nonlinear structural stability problem. The covalent bonds are modeled using three-dimensional beam elements in which elastic moduli are calculated based on molecular structural mechanics technique, and the interlayer van der Waals (vdW) interactions are modeled with nonlinear truss elements. An analytical expression for Young’s modulus of nonlinear truss elements is derived based on the Lennard–Jones potential function and implemented in numerical simulation with a UMAT subroutine based on FORTRAN code to capture the nonlinearity of the vdW interactions during the buckling analysis. The results indicate that the highest critical buckling stress and the minimum lateral deflection occur for armchair and zigzag chirality, both with AB stacking mode, respectively. Moreover, the critical buckling stress is found to be directly dependent on the mode shape number regardless of in-phase or anti-phase deflection direction of layers. Lateral deflection exhibits a similar trend with mode shape in anti-phase mode; however, it is decreasing by increasing mode shape number in in-phase mode.

The solubilities of different multicomponent lanthanide oxide (Ln2O3) solid solutions including binary (Ln1 and Ln2 = La, Nd, Eu, or Tm), ternary (Ln1, Ln2, and Ln3 = La, Nd, Eu, or Tm), and higher systems (Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu) were studied after aging for four weeks at 60°C. Our recent study revealed that the phase transformations in binary ((La, Nd) and (La, Eu)) and ternary (La, Nd, Eu) systems are responsible for the formation of (La, Nd)(OH)3, (La, Eu)(OH)3, and (La, Nd, Eu)(OH)3 solid solutions, respectively. The variations in the mole fractions of La3+, Nd3+, and Eu3+ in the sample solutions of these hydroxide solid solutions indicated that a thermodynamic equilibrium might account for the apparent La, Nd, and Eu solubilities. Conversely, the binary and ternary systems containing Tm2O3 as the heavy lanthanide oxide retained the oxide-based solid solutions, and their solubility behaviors were dominated by their congruent dissolutions. In the higher multicomponent system, the X-ray diffraction patterns of the solid phases, before and after contact with the aqueous phase indicated the formation of a stable oxide solid solution and their solubility behavior was explained by its congruent dissolution.

The purpose of the study is to assess morphological and chromosomal comparison of Mini type Phalanopsis ‘KS Little Gem’ and four domestic market available cultivars (‘Queen Beer’, ‘Tony Pink’, ‘Vaviche’ and ‘Rorens’). ‘KS Little Gem’ had the highest number of leaves (14.9), while the other four types had fewer than ten. The longest leaf length was 21.5㎝ for ‘Tony Pink’, followed by 16.2㎝, 18.0㎝ and 17.5㎝ for ‘Queen Beer’, ‘Rorens’ and ‘Vaviche’ respectively. The length and width of the petals of ‘KS Little Gem’ were 29.5㎜ and 25.6㎜ respectively indicating a round shape flower compared to other cultivars. When the flower lifespan of ‘KS Little Gem’ was compared to four cultivars of the domestic market, it was found that it had a 123-day shelf life, which was twice longer than that of the four cultivars. According to chromosome analysis ‘KS Little Gem’, ‘Rorens’, ‘Tony Pink,' and ‘Vaviche’ were tetraploid (2n = 4x = 76) while ‘Queen Beer’ was diploid (2n = 2x = 38). The estimated DNA content of ‘KS Little Gem’, ‘Rorens’, ‘Tony Pink’ and ‘Vaviche’ had 4918.4, 4794.2, 4705.2 and 4964.3 Mbp respectively, which were roughly double than that of P. cornu-cervi (control, 2n = 2x = 38). However, ‘Queen Beer’, had an estimated DNA content of 2802.2Mbp, similar to that of P. cornu-cervi. The morphological features, genome size and chromosomal data reported in these studies can be used by breeders to create more efficient Phalaenopsis breeding programs.

The research work was undertaken to determine an effective fertilization medium, sperm separation method and sperm capacitating agent for optimum in vitro fertilization (IVF) rates of indigenous zebu cow oocytes. In experiment 1, tissue culture medium (TCM 199), Tyrode’s albumin lactate pyruvate (TALP) and Brackett and Oliphant (BO) medium were used as basic medium for IVF of oocytes of indigenous zebu cows. In experiment 2, three sperm separation methods namely centrifugation, swim up and percoll gradient methods were used for separation of motile and viable spermatozoa for IVF. In experiment 3, for capacitation of spermatozoa, IVF medium supplemented with the heparin, mixture of penicillamine, hypotaurine and epinephrine (PHE) or the combination of heparin with PHE were used for fertilization. In vitro culture (IVC) of presumptive zygotes was done in modified synthetic oviduct fluid (mSOF) medium using standard procedure 24 h after sperm-oocytes co-culture. The cleavage rate was determined to evaluate the efficacy of fertilization medium, sperm separation method and sperm capacitating agent 24 h after IVC. The cleavage rate was higher in oocytes fertilized in TALP (63.3%) than in TCM 199 (47.5%) (p < 0.05). The cleavage rate was higher in oocytes fertilized by spermatozoa separated by percoll gradient method (62.3%) than by centrifugation (51.6%) (p < 0.05). The cleavage rate of oocytes was higher when insemination was done with spermatozoa capacitated in TALP supplemented with heparin and PHE (61.3%) compared to control (40.9%) (p < 0.05). In conclusions, TALP based medium and percoll gradient sperm separation followed by capacitation with combination of heparin and PHE are suitable for IVF of indigenous zebu cow oocytes in Bangladesh.

The objective of this research work was to know ovarian dynamics and pregnancy rate of cyclic Murrah buffalo cows with induced estrus by administration of prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) and timed artificial insemination (TAI) with frozen thawed semen. A total of 31 female buffaloes were selected for the study. The buffalos having matured CL observed by ultrasonography were given one intra muscular injection of cloprostenol 500 μg and TAI was performed using frozen thawed semen of Indian Murrah buffalo bull. Results showed that 90.32% (significantly, at p < 0.05) cows explore the sign of heat after injection of PG and 67.85% (significantly, at p < 0.05) cows were become pregnant out of 28 inseminated (TAI) cows. In the 28 inseminated (TAI) cows, average number of smaller and larger size of follicles were non-significantly (p > 0.05) higher at day 3 post PG injection, but the medium size of follicles was non-significantly (p > 0.05) higher at PG injection. At day 3 post PG injection the diameter of follicles was significantly (p < 0.05) higher, but the diameter of CL was significantly (p < 0.01) lower compared at PG injection. At PG injection the diameter of largest follicle was non-significantly differences (p > 0.05) in between pregnant and non-pregnant cows. But at day 3 post PG injection it was significantly (p < 0.01) higher in pregnant cows compared to non-pregnant cows. The number of small, medium, and large follicles at PG injection and at day 3 post PG injection were non-significantly (p > 0.05) difference in between pregnant and non-pregnant buffalo cows. Finally, it is concluded that the CL was effectively regresses and induced the sign of heat in buffalo cows and after AI the cows were become pregnant with significant rate. The study will help to the veterinarian and researcher to know the efficacy of PG injection and AI for reproductive efficiency in buffalo cows.

The challenges faced by the Malaysian shipyard industry had led to the failure of local shipyards in catering to the demand of ship owners. The shipyard industry had recorded the least contribution (1.0%) to the world shipbuilding order book and had caused inconsistencies in the Malaysian shipbuilding ship repair (SBSR) industry’s demand and supply market. The objectives of this study had been to identify the factors that had contributed to the challenges faced by the shipyard industry in Malaysia, and to rank them according to their priorities. The factors of these challenges had been identified by using the cause-and-effect analysis method and were further illustrated in the form of an Ishikawa diagram. Subsequently, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method was applied to determine the weightage of the priorities. The results had shown that ‘Market’ (41.66%) had been the most challenging aspect faced by the shipyard industry in Malaysia from all the five factors studied. As such, this research would help shipyard organisations to effectively prioritise these challenging factors as a way of sustaining their businesses and affecting the economic contribution from the shipyard industry.