Determination of the electron temperature and electron density in reduced pressure hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) discharge.

A reduced pressure glow discharge is produced by passing a high-power pulsed DC source of 0-500 W with a frequency of 50 Hz across two parallel disk electrodes. A hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution is used as a flowing gas for discharge generation. Optical emission spectroscopy is employed to diagnose the discharge generated at a reduced pressure of 0.2 mbar with an electrode gap of 4 cm. The spectra are recorded at a power density of 9.4 mW/cm3 and typically lie in the visible wavelength range of 380-880 nm. The spectra are analyzed using the line intensity ratio method to estimate electron temperature and density. The results indicated that the electron temperature and density are, respectively, 0.87 eV and 6.4 × 1014 cm-3.

Dataset from the detailed survey of vintage unreinforced masonry buildings in the State of Queensland, Australia.

Due to an identified need to have realistic geometries and boundary conditions of vintage unreinforced masonry (URM) parapets and gable ends, this data collection study was conducted to document prevalent typologies of URM buildings in the Australian State of Queensland. Street surveys were completed in 7 towns and included measurement of the building geometry and the documentation of the other building construction details that were ascertainable using a brief external evaluation. To collect the data, firstly the historical statistical records from Colonial Australia were interrogated to determine regions with the largest potential stocks of vintage URM buildings. It was found that, excluding the Queensland capital (Brisbane), seven other towns existed that had reported significant URM building construction during late 19th century and early 20th century census. These seven towns were selected for street surveys, and Brisbane was excluded due to the lack of sufficient resources. The street survey included take measurable photographs of building facades using a digital laser-based tool. These photographs were used in subsequent desktop study to calculate façade geometries. Additional relevant building information was extracted from Google Map and other sources, enabling an estimate of the roof shape and building plan dimension to be also obtained. This data report includes spreadsheets containing summary of the 363 surveyed building properties and the drawings that were created using the collected data.

The effect of air mass origin on the ambient concentrations of 7Be and ²¹°Pb in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Concentration of radionuclides ²¹°Pb and 7Be, having half lives of 22.3 years and 53.29 days, respectively, in the surface air samples of Islamabad (33.38°N, 73.10°E and Altitude ∼536 m asl.) are measured. The non-destructive technique of gamma-spectrometry, with a high purity germanium HPGe detector, was employed for the analysis of all samples. The annual average concentrations of ²¹°Pb and 7Be in the surface air samples were determined as 0.284 ± 0.15 and 3.171 ± 1.14 mBq m⁻³, respectively. Our results have shown a seasonal variation of the concentration of 7Be in air samples with high values for the spring season. High concentrations for ²¹°Pb are obtained when air masses originate from plain areas of Pothohar region, located in the South-West, West and North West of Islamabad. Our values of concentrations show a nice agreement with the relevant reported results.

Radon monitoring in water sources of Balakot and Mansehra cities lying on a geological fault line.

This paper relates to a series of systematic studies regarding measurement of radon concentration in the earthquake-affected areas of northern Pakistan. Radon is a radioactive alpha-particle-emitting gas originating from the decay series of uranium and thorium and is found anywhere in soil, air and water. The nature of water does not matter with regard to the presence of radon, however, the level of radon concentration varies in different types of water. The present survey is carried out in water samples from the fault zone of Balakot and Mansehra regions, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan, which is important for geological consideration and protection from radiation hazards. The measurements were made on a Pylon system that is based on the radon gas measurement with a Lucas cell. In 72 water samples in the equilibrium state between radon and its progeny, the concentration level of radon is measured. The results show that the radon concentrations are in the range of 4.99-24.52 kBq/m(3), with an average value of 15.52 kBq/m(3) for all types of water taken in this survey.

Fission track estimation of uranium concentrations in drinking water from Azad Kashmir, Pakistan.

The analysis of uranium in water samples can be very helpful for providing guidelines to the general public regarding necessary remedial measures. A fission-track technique has been applied for the estimation of the uranium concentration in drinking water collected from natural springs of Muzaffarabad and hilly areas of Reshian, Azad Kashmir. The technique involved simultaneous irradiation with thermal neutrons of a sample and a standard in contact with a track detector, and the counting of the fission tracks in the detector from the (n, f) nuclear reaction. Uranium concentrations of the samples were determined by comparing fission-track density with that of a standard of known uranium concentration. Uranium concentration in water samples from the Muzaffarabad and Reshian area varied from 0.03 +/- 0.01 microgL(-1) to 6.67 +/- 0.14 microgL(-1) with an average of 1.36 +/- 0.05 microgL(-1). The observed concentrations of uranium in drinking water were found to be less than the Maximum Acceptable Concentration levels of 9-30 microgL(-1). Thus, the observed values are within safe limits as far as uranium related health hazards are concerned.

Longitudinal oscillations and linear Landau damping in quark-gluon plasma.

On the basis of the semiclassical kinetic Vlasov equation for quark-gluon plasma and the Yang-Mills equation in covariant gauge, linear Landau damping for electrostatic perturbations such as Langmuir waves is investigated for the extreme-relativistic and strongly relativistic cases. It has been observed that for the extreme-relativistic case, wherein the thermal speed of the particles exceeds the phase velocity of the perturbations, the linear Landau damping is absent as has been reported in the literature. However, a departure from extreme-relativistic case generates an imaginary component of the frequency giving rise to linear Landau damping effect. The relevant integral for the conductivity tensor has been evaluated and the dispersion relation for the longitudinal part of the oscillation was obtained. Further, it is also noted that both the real part of the oscillation frequency and the damping rate are sensitive to the choice of the wave number k and the Debye length lambda(D) associated with quark-gluon plasma.

Bacteriuria and pregnancy outcome: a prospective hospital-based study in Pakistani women.

The prevalence of bacteriuria in Pakistani women and its association with complications of pregnancy was studied. Out of 1579 women, 77 had bacteriuria (4.8%). There was no association of age, gravidity, parity, haemoglobin, pre-eclampsia, mode of delivery, gestational age at delivery, preterm delivery and low birth-weight with presence of bacteriuria. With detection and treatment the pregnancy outcome of women with bacteriuria in pregnancy was the same as that of those without.