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The structure ofPm is investigated through the beta decay ofSm, whose half-life is measured to be (14.7 ± 0.2) m. A level structure comprising 41 transitions among 17 excited states is constructed. Using the deduced ft values and measured internal conversion coefficients, spin-parity assignments to several states inPm were made. From beta end-point measurement, the total decay energy is deduced to be Q=3.4±0.3 MeV, which is compared with the predictions of several mass formulae. The systematics of the odd- Z, N=79 isotones are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure ofSm is investigated through the decay properties ofSm andEu. The decay ofSm is measured to have a half-life of (10.7±0.6) s. Gamma-ray and internal conversion electron measurements lead to the construction of a decay pattern comprising seven transitions among five states. The decay ofEu with a measured half-life of (17.9± 0.6) s is studied with beta decay spectroscopy techniques. A decay scheme consisting fourteen states inSm is proposed. Using deduced ft values and transition multipolarities, J assignments are made. Nuclear systematics of the odd- A, N=77 and 76 are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure ofNd is investigated through the β-decay ofPm, whose decay half-life is measured to be 3.24±0.05 min. A level structure comprising 27 excited states and 52 transitions is constructed. With the help of deduced ft values and internal conversion coefficients, spin-parity assignments are made to many states inNd and to the ground states ofPm. From the positron end-point energy measurement, the total decay energy is determined to be 5.4±0.2 MeV, which is compared with the predictions of several mass formulae and with the decay energy systematics of the N=77 isotones. The structure ofNd is discussed in the light of nuclear systematics of the N=78 isotones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nuclideEu is identified to have two beta decaying isomers,Eu andEu, whose decay half-lives are measured to be 40.0±0.7 s and 3.3±0.3s, respectively. Their decay properties are studied by means of beta and gamma spectroscopy techniques. The states with J assignments inSm thus deduced are compared with those of the other odd- A, N=79 isotones. The total decay energy ofEu is measured to be 6.03±0.10 MeV, which is compared with the predictions of several mass formulae and with the decay energy systematics of the N=78 isotones. TheEu andEu are deduced to have J=5/2 and 11/2, respectively. A 96.4 keV isomeric transition between them is found to be an E3 transition with a B( E3)=1.6±0.4 efm. The structure ofEu is compared with that of the other N = 78 isotones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The level structure of the N=80,Nd has been investigated through the beta decay ofPm andPm, whose decay half-lives were measured to be 5.95±0.05 min and 9.1±0.5 sec, respectively. Decay schemes for the two isomers have been constructed from γ-ray measurements. With the help of the beta decay ft values and internal conversion electron measurements, spins and parities were deduced for levels inNd. Among the levels a 7 state at 2222.0 keV and a 5 state at 2273.3 keV are identified as two-neutron quasiparticle states. The (ie233-01) forPm andPm have been deduced as 7 and 1, respectively. From beta end-point measurements, the decay energies of the two isomers have been determined as Q=6.48±0.07 MeV(Pm) and Q=6.08±0.10 MeV (Pm). The results are discussed in the light of nuclear systematics of the N=79 and 80 isotones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decay characteristics of 19 minSb have been studied using Ge(Li) and scintillation spectrometers. The sources ofSb were obtained by the ( n, p) reaction on enrichedTe. The gamma rays of energies 414.4±0.3, 666.7±0.5 and 696.1±0.5 keV were found decaying with a half-life of 19 min. The study of beta spectra employing an anthracene crystal yielded two beta groups with end-point energies of 1.9±0.15 and 2.5±0.15 MeV. The results of singles and coincidence measurements have been incorporated into a decay scheme with excited states ofTe at 666.7, 1,362.8 and 1,777.2 keV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electromagnetic decay of the 11/2Sm is investigated. Internal conversion electron and X-ray-conversion electron coincidence measurements indicate that the state undergoes β and electron capture decay with 99.69% strength and the remaining 0.31% goes to a 174.2±0.3 keV M4 transition. The K/L conversion electron intensity ratio for the transition is measured to be 1.7±0.4. The energy of the 11/2 is established at 175.8±0.3 keV above the 1/2 ground state inSm. Systematics of the M4 transitions in the N=79 and 81 isotones are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The positron decay ofEu is reinvestigated using beta- and gamma-ray spectroscopy techniques. A decay scheme comprising three excited states and four transitions inSm is constructed. Three new transitions are observed and have led to the establishment of a second 2 state populated in this decay. The half-life ofEu has been accurately measured to be 10.2±0.1 s. Spin-parity assignments are made to all the levels involved in the decay. The structure ofSm is discussed in the light of different models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Symptomatic intervertebral disc degeneration is being recently reported in younger population, questions the basis of its degenerative etiology. Latest evidences show that genetics play a significant role. Collagen IX, an important constituent of disc, is found to be altered in genetically predisposed individuals. Mutations have been reported in COL9A2 and COL9A3 genes, which encode Collagen IX, in Finnish and various other populations. The purpose of the present study is to test the significance of these genes in the Indian population., Materials and Methods: One hundred proven cases of intervertebral disc disease (IDD) of various regions of spine were selected for the study, along with matched controls. They were tested for the above mentioned alleles by allelic discrimination method with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) study after isolation of DNA from blood sample. Each blood sample was classified into one of the three types - homozygous, heterozygous, and wild (normal) type allele - separately for COL9A2 and COL9A3 genes., Results: Homozygosity for COL9A2 allelic variation was associated with 100% occurrence of the disease. Heterozygous allele of COL9A2 was significantly higher in the study group (42%) as compared to the control group (17%). In contrast, allelic variation in COL9A3 gene was found to have no significant correlation with disc disease. There was no single patient with homozygous allelic variation for COL9A3, suggesting predominance of COL9A2 variation in the Indian population., Conclusion: This candidate gene strategy approach adds considerably to our knowledge of genetic makeup of Indian populations in relation with disc disease. This study highlights importance of COL9A2 gene variation especially of homozygous variety in contrast to COL9A3 variation in causing disc disease in Indian population.