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Researchers are trying to find an alternative to the conventional methods of treatment for various pain associated ailments. Patients prefer pain killer as an immediate solution which is proven to have adverse reactions. Since vibroacoustic sound therapy has shown to have relieving effect on different forms of pain, the goal of the study was to find impact of the same using β-endorphin as biomarker, as this could be non-invasive protocol for dental pain management in the future. As a pilot project, 9 subjects of 20-40 years, clinically diagnosed with acute pulpal pain were considered and exposed to 3 frequency groups (low, moderate and high). Impact of vibroacoustic therapy was clinically evaluated by analyzing human salivary β-endorphin using Elisa kit and pain rated by the patients through a numeric rating scale. Statistical analysis performed showed that there is no significant difference for the entire population (P=0.0526), in (P= 0.3618, 0.8264, 0.0671) and between (P=0.4637) the study groups. It would be misleading to take inference due to the small sample size and other observations made.

Cocoa pod shells are the agro waste generated causing problem during the disposal. In the present study, possibility of utilizing the cocoa pod shells to release the reducing sugars has been explored. Hydrochloric acid hydrolysis assisted with autoclave was adopted to obtain reducing sugars. The one parameter at a time approach was implimented to screen the significant parameters influencing the hydrolysis among weight of cocoa pod shells, concentration of HCl and duration of autoclave. Parameters such as concentration of HCl and duration of autoclave were found to be significant. These parameters were chosen for the central composite design comprising of five levels using response surface methodology to optimize the hydrolysis process. At optimized condition of 54.15 minutes of autoclave treatment and 4.41% of HCl, 21.11 g/L of maximum reducing sugar was released. A second order polynomial equation was generated having a good fit with R2 of 0.84.

In this paper, we report the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (BPAuNPs) using banana pith extract. Biosynthesized BPAuNPs were screened for phytochemicals coated over them and further characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD and particle size analyser. UV-Visible spectrscopic analysis confirmed the production of BPAuNPs at 530 to 560 nm, where the colour change in the solution from light yellow to deep purple indicated the formation of BPAuNPs. FT-IR analysis confirmed the capping of BPAuNPs with organic residues like, proteins, amino acids and polyphenols present in the extract, which led to stabilization of BPAuNPs. Negative zeta values indicated the stability of BPAuNPs. XRD results prooved the crystalline nature of BPAuNPs. The synthesized BPAuNPs were tested for their antibacterial activity against both Gram positive (Bacillus subtilis) and negative (E.coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria with known antibiotic as control. BPAuNPs showed significant bacteriostatic effect. The BPAuNPs were found to have a positive catalytic activity of reduction of malachite green dye, which was confirmed by the time dependent reduction in absorbance maxima, it can be ascribed to the electron relay response.

To release reducing sugars from cocoa pod shell, sulphuric acid pre-treatment was adopted where the variables affecting H2SO4 pre-treatment i.e., cocoa pod shell weight, H2SO4 concentration, microwave irradiation time and power were screened using one factor at a time approach. The weight of cocoa pod shell, concentration of H2SO4 showed a significant effect on the pre-treatment process and the levels of these factors were further optimized by central composite design using response surface methodology .The optimized conditions were found to be 15.65g ofcocoa pod shell, 6% v/v H2SO4 at 8 min of irradiation, released maximum reducing sugar of 9.10 g/L. A second order model was generated and validated, which was found to be a good fit with R2value of 0.89. Artificial neural network modelling proved validation R2 of 0.94 comparatively better than Response surface methodology R2 of 0.89. The reducing sugars released after acid hydrolysis at optimized conditions were subjected to fermentation by Pichia stipitis to produce bioethanol. The bioethanol produced was 3.2g/L at 2% (v/v) inoculum concentration after 72h of fermentation.

New rotational bands built on the ν(h_{11/2}) configuration have been identified in ^{105}Pd. Two bands built on this configuration show the characteristics of transverse wobbling: the ΔI=1 transitions between them have a predominant E2 component and the wobbling energy decreases with increasing spin. The properties of the observed wobbling bands are in good agreement with theoretical results obtained using constrained triaxial covariant density functional theory and quantum particle rotor model calculations. This provides the first experimental evidence for transverse wobbling bands based on a one-neutron configuration, and also represents the first observation of wobbling motion in the A∼100 mass region.

A feasibility study on utilization of non edible oil of Scleropyrum pentandrum was carried out to see its potential as a new source for biodiesel production. Nonedible oil seeds of Scleropyrum pentandrum have oil content of 55–60%. Transesterification of freshly extracted oil in the presence of anhydrous sodium hydroxide at a concentration 1% (w/v oil) and methanol-oil ratio of 40% (v/v oil) yields 90.8% methyl esters under conventional heating. Month old oil requires sulfuric acid pretreatment (esterification) before transesterification. The transesterified oil has a density 889–893 kg/m3; kinematic viscosity of 4.21–5.7 mm2/s; cetane index 46.03; pour point of −15°C and gross calorific value of 40.135 MJ/kg and oxidative stability of 2.35 hours. The properties are well within the Indian, European and American standard limits recommended for biodiesel except the oxidation stability, which can be improved by adding antioxidant additives. The engine performance studies of B10 and B20 blends of Scle...

Rapid depletion of petroleum fuels with high fluctuating market prices have enforced mankind to switch for an alternate fuel. The present investigation reports a comparison on the effect of Induction heating and LPG heating for acid hydrolysis of cocoa pod biomass (CPB) to carryout ABE fermentation for the production of biobutanol. The effect of Sulphuric acid (H2SO4), CPB load and residence time on release of total sugar was studied and optimized using Central Composite Design (CCD). The optimum condition for the pretreatment by induction heating was found to be 3.05 (%v/v) of H2SO4, 11.51 (%w/v) of CPB and 41.43 min of residence time with 36.26 g/L of total sugar. Similarly for LPG heating an optimum of 25.66 g/L of total sugar released with pretreatment condition 4.03 (%v/v) of H2SO4, 6.53 (%w/v) of CPB and 64 min of residence time was observed. The treatment of high biomass load with low concentration of acid in lesser time makes induction heating energy efficient and cost effective. The CPB hydrolysate produced through Induction and LPG heating was allowed to undergo anaerobic fermentation, using Clostridium acetobutilicum MTCC11274. The ABE yield produced using induction assisted CPB hydrolysate was 5.04 ± 0.32 g/L of acetone, 11.73 ± 0.84 g/L butanol and 1.43 ± 0.04 ethanol in 312 h with total ABE of 18.25 ± 1.17 g/L. The resulted ABE fermentation yield was higher than the LPG assisted CPB hydrolysate with 1.69 ± 0.17 g/L acetone, 3.36 ± 0.27 g/L butanol and 0.22 ± 0.08 g/L ethanol with total ABE of 5.27 ± 0.51 g/L. The less energy consumption, higher conversion of carbohydrate and great fermentability of hydrolysate makes induction assisted acid pretreatment method significant in biofuel industry.

The objective of the present study is to investigate the caffeine-degrading abilities of different fungi and to apply this knowledge to environmental remediation and industrial decaffeination process. Chrysosporium keratinophilum, Gliocladium roseum, Fusarium solani, and Aspergillus restrictus were isolated from the coffee pulp obtained from a coffee estate. Pure cultures of fungi were isolated on standard conventional potato dextrose broth (PDB) medium and authenticated. Pure cultures were subjected to a caffeine tolerance study at different concentrations of caffeine (1–8 g/L) in potato dextrose agar (PDA) and minimal media. On PDA, Fusarium solani could tolerate caffeine concentration up to 8 g/L, whereas Chrysosporium keratinophilum, Gliocladium roseum, and Aspergillus restrictus could tolerate up to 6 g/L. On minimal agar medium containing different concentrations of caffeine (1–8 g/L), Fusarium solani tolerated up to 8 g/L and the other fungi up to 2 g/L. A time-bound caffeine degradation s...

Although nanoparticles can be produced using various physicochemical methods, their synthesis using nontoxic environmental friendly biological method is gaining more attention especially from the point of view of in situ application in medicine. Biological synthesis of nanoparticles is not only useful because of its very low environmental burden compared with some of the physicochemical methods, but also it can be easily scaled up without much complication. Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticle under ambient condition using turmeric extract is reported here. The formation of turmeric nanoparticles (TUAgnps) were analyzed visually and spectrophotometrically. Appearance of brownish yellow colour indicated the formation of TUAgnps which was confirmed by the appearance of surface plasmon band at 435 nm by UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The synthesized TUAgnps were characterized by FT-IR, particle size analyzer, SEM and EDAX. FT-IR studies revealed the capping of nanoparticles by phytoconstituents present in the turmeric extract, and negative zeta potential indicated the stability of TUAgnps. The synthesized nanoparticles were used for methylene blue dye reduction and as a bactericidal agent. The TUAgnps impregnated cotton bandage gauze exhibited strong antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa which was confirmed by anticontact study. SEM image of the nanoparticle impregnated cotton bandage gauze showed TUAgnps ranged from 120 to 160 nm hence TUAgnps could be effectively used in antimicrobial wound dressing. The biosynthesized TUAgnps were observed to have a positive catalytic activity of reduction of methylene blue dye, which can be confirmed by time dependent reduction in absorbance maxima which can be ascribed to the electron relay response.

An efficient in vitro propagation and in vitro flowering protocols were developed for the medicinal plant Cichorium intybus (Asteraceae) using leaf disc explants. Media supplemented with the growth regulator naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) (1.5 mg/l) + 6-benzyle adenine (0.25 mg/l) was used for the initial induction of the callus and further subcultured to the same media for the proliferation of the callus. Pale yellow and green calli were noticed, which depends on incorporation of the growth hormones and their varying concentrations. Murashige and Skoog medium in addition with 2 mg/l kinetin+ 0.5 mg/l indole-3-acetic acid (IBA) + 500 mg/l casein hydrolysate resulted in maximum regeneration. Media supplemented via IBA (0.5 mg/l) and NAA (0.5 mg/l) (98%) was found to beoptimum for rhizogenesis for in vitro regenerated plants. For acclimatization 5-6 weeks mature in vitro regenerated plants were transferred into the greenhouse for acclimatization. The histological study revealed the presence actively dividing meristematic cells in callus. The occurrence of the peripheral meristematic zone associated with callus was noticed in after 20 days, which formed the shoot meristems after 45 days of incubation. To our knowledge, this is the first report on high-frequency plant regeneration which was carried out indirectly from theleaf explants which was grown in controlled environment with varying concentration of the growth regulators and histology of callus of different stages from leaf explants of C. intybus.

A 624-channel Digital Data Acquisition System capable of instrumenting the Segmented Germanium Array at National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory has been implemented using Pixie-16 Digital Gamma Finder modules by XIA LLC. The system opens an opportunity for determination of the first interaction position of a γ ray in a SeGA detector from implementation of γ ‐ ray tracking. This will translate into a significantly improved determination of angle of emission, and in consequence much better Doppler corrections for experiments with fast beams. For stopped-beam experiments the system provides means for zero dead time measurements of rare decays, which occur on time scales of microseconds.

A detailed, universal simulation tool for the Recoil Distance Method lifetime measurements at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) is presented. The measurements are made with the Koln-NSCL plunger-SeGA setup and utilize fast, secondary beams of exotic nuclei provided by the Coupled Cyclotron Facility and the A1900 fragment separator. The simulation tool, built upon GEANT4 and Root toolkits, incorporates all relevant aspects of a plunger experiment. The tool is applied in two ways. First, to aid in the design of new experiments by facilitating the choice of optimal experimental conditions. Second, to aid in off-line analysis of the experimental data and in particular to deduce the lifetime by comparison of experimental and simulated peak shapes in the γ -ray energy spectra. All the important features of the simulation tool are described, followed by examples of the application of the tool in the cases of real experiments completed or proposed at NSCL.

Chemical mixtures are an important area of research as individuals are exposed to low doses of persistent chemical agents known as environmental pollutants throughout their life time. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and diethyl phthalate (DEP) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants that could be present in the same environmental compartment; hence organisms may get simultaneously exposed to both. Therefore, a study was undertaken to see whether PCB and DEP together show interactive chronic mixture toxicity in male Wistar rats. Healthy male Wistar rats weighing 70–100 g were randomly assigned to four groups of six each. Control rats were fed on normal diet and water ad libitum. Oil control rats were maintained on a normal diet mixed with corn oil. Rats were given Clophen A60 (PCB) and DEP dissolved individually in corn oil mixed with the diet at 50 mg kg−1 of the diet/day, as well as a mixture in corn oil mixed with the diet both at 50 mg kg−1 of the diet/day. After 150 days of treatment animals were sac...

Pre-treatment is a process that releases simple sugars from complex lignocellulosic biomass by using chemicals like acid and alkali which are one of the simplest and cost effective techniques. In this study, the conditions for sulphuric acid and sodium hydroxide pretreatment of de-oiled oil seed cake (DOSC) were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). The levels of factors (DOSC concentration, agitation speed, sulphuric acid (H2SO4), sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentration and reaction time) that affect release of reducing sugars by pre-treatment were obtained by one factor at a time (OFAT) approach of which only H2SO4 concentration, NaOH concentration and reaction time showed significance. The levels of factors were optimized by central composite design. Optimized conditions were found to be 11.65% (v/v) of H2SO4 concentration at 1.28h and, 4 N of NaOH at 3.7 h for acid and alkali hydrolysis respectively. Under optimized conditions, the release of reducing sugars was found to be 0.69 g/L (41.36 mg RRS/ g cellulose) and 0.40 g/L (23.98 mg RRS/ g cellulose) for acid hydrolysis and alkali hydrolysis of DOSC, respectively. Hence, RSM was found to be an efficient technique to optimize the hydrolysis process and ensure maximum release of reducing sugars.

Polychlorinated biphenyls and diethyl phthalate are both lipophilic in nature and are likely to be present in the same environmental compartment or bioaccumalate over a period of time, thus a mixture toxicity study was undertaken to evaluate the type of interaction between polychlorinated biphenyls (Clophen A60) and diethyl phthalate over two generations in female Wistar rats. Healthy male and female albino rats of Wistar strain weighing 75–100 g (6–7 weeks old) were randomly assigned to four groups of six each. Group I male and female rats were fed on normal diet and water ad libitum . Group II male and female rats were maintained on normal diet mixed with corn oil as oil control. GroupS III and IV male and female rats were given Clophen A60 and diethyl phthalate dissolved in corn oil mixed with the diet at 50 mg/kg of the diet individually to each group. Group V male and female rats received a mixture of diethyl phthalate and Clophen A60, each dissolved in corn oil mixed with the diet at 50 mg/kg of the diet. Hundred days after the treatment, females were mated with the males in each group for 10 days. Exposure to diethyl phthalate and Clophen A60 was continued throughout mating, gestation until termination at weaning, which was 150 days of total treatment period of the parental generation female rats. Treatment for F1 generation male and female pups (6 males & 6 females) with Clophen A60 and diethyl phthalate individually and in mixture was continued at doses reduced to 25 mg/kg of the diet after they reached 75–100 g in weight. The treatment was carried out similar to the parental generation for a period of 150 days. Liver and serum aspartate aminotransferase, liver cholesterol and glycogen were significantly increased in the F1 generation Clophen A60 + diethyl phthalate treated group, whereas serum cholesterol, liver glutathione and glutathione reductase showed a significant decrease in the F1 generation Clophen A60 + diethyl phthalate treated group as compared to the parental generation mixture and individually treated groups as well as the individually treated F1 generation groups. A significant increase was observed in the liver and serum aspartate aminotransferase activity of Clophen A60 and serum aspartate aminotransferase levels of diethyl phthalate treated F1 generation rats as compared to the parental generation Clophen A60 and diethyl phthalate individually and mixture treated rats. Liver glutathione levels were significantly decreased in the F1 generation Clophen A60 and diethyl phthalate individually treated rats which was similar to the parental generation individually treated rats as compared to the controls. Liver glutathione reductase level was also significantly declined in the diethyl phthalate treated F1 individual group as compared to diethyl phthalate individually treated parental generation rats. Histology of the liver showed fatty degeneration in the mixture treated F1 generation rats as compared to Clophen A60 and diethyl phthalate individually treated F1 rats and parental generation Clophen A60 and diethyl phthalate individually and mixture treated rats. Thus, in spite of dose reduction and continuous exposure over two generation’s to a mixture of diethyl phthalate and Clophen A60 exposed through gestation, lactation and diet leads to a synergistic toxic effect in the F1 generation.

In recent years, the exposure of humans to phthalate esters through environmental contamination has increased. One among them is di-ethyl phthalate (DEP), which is used as a plastisizer for cellulose ester plastic films and sheets, solid rocket propellants, molded and extruded articles, as a component in insecticide sprays and various other substances, as well as in industrial applications. Release into the environment occurs primarily as a result of production and manufacturing of DEP and during the use and disposal of products containing DEP. Therefore, a study was undertaken to evaluate gender-specific toxicity of DEP in Wistar rats. Rats of both sexes, weighing 125–130 g, were administered 50 ppm (w/v) DEP in water ad libitum for a period of 180 days and were given normal diet. Control animals received normal diet and water ad libitum. During the treatment, rats were weighed every week and water consumption per day was measured. After the completion of treatment, liver weight : body weight−1 ratio, li...

Three strongly coupled sequences have been established in Te-110,Te-112 up to high spins. They are interpreted in terms of deformed structures built on proton 1-particle-1-hole excitations that reach termination at I similar to 40h. This is the first observation of smooth terminating dipole structures in this mass region. Lifetime measurements have allowed the extraction of experimental B(M 1; 1 -> I - 1) and B(E2; I -> I - 2) reduced transition rates for one of the dipole bands in Te-110. The results support the deformed interpretation. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Current work explores the impact of gamma-softness on partner bands built on the h11/2h11/2 proton-particle-neutron-hole configurations in triaxial odd-odd nuclei. The results of calculations conducted using a core-particle-hole coupling are presented. The model Hamiltonian includes the collective core, the single-particle valence nucleons, and separable quadrupole-quadrupole interactions. The Kerman-Klein method was applied to find eigenstates, which provided a convenient way for exploring core effects. Calculations were made for triaxial cores with various gamma-softness using the General Collective Model keeping the expectation value for the triaxiality parameter fixed at =30 deg. The degeneracy in the proton-neutron h11/2h11/2 bands results from the calculations for the gamma-rigid core but is lifted for the gamma-unstable core., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Proceedings of the 21st Winter Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics, Breckenridge, Colorado, February 5-12, 2005

Chirality in atomic nuclei is a direct consequence of the existence of triaxial nuclear shapes. This phenomenon is known to exist in the A ~ 130 region. We have now observed several pair of bands built upon the negative parity configuration, πg−19/2 ⊗ νh11/2, in Rh and Tc isotopes in the A ~ 104 region which can be understood in terms of the phenomenon of chiral symmetry breaking. Results of the search for chiral bands in 106Ag are presented in the current paper.

Experimental properties of nearly degenerate ΔI = 1 doublet bands, which are built on the same single-particle configuration, are tested against three criteria for spontaneous formation of chirality in nuclei via the coupling of three mutually perpendicular angular momenta. Four representative nuclei, 134 Pr, 130 Cs, 104 Rh and 105 Rh are discussed. The doublet bands in these nuclei exhibit chiral characteristics except for 134 Pr, which shows a significant difference in electromagnetic properties between the two candidate chiral structures.

Two low lying positive-parity bands in 130Cs have been examined for chiral signatures. Small energy differences between the two bands, which have been previously observed, have been confirmed and the bands, as well as the number of transitions within and between the bands, extended. The intraband B(M1)/B(E2) ratios and B(M1)intraband/B(M1)interband ratios and the energy staggering parameter, S(I), have been deduced for these partner bands. The results are found to be consistent with a chiral interpretation for the two structures. Core–quasiparticle coupling model calculations have been performed to study 130Cs assuming a triaxial core. The experimental level energies and electromagnetic properties of the bands, resulting from the configuration, are reasonably well reproduced by the model, providing further evidence in support of the chiral interpretation of the two structures.

Excited states in 100Tc have been studied using the 96Zr( 7Li, 3n) reaction at a beam energy of 27 MeV. In the present work, evidence has been found for a second ΔI = 1 band decaying via several stretched dipole transitions to the previously known ΔI = 1 negative-parity band. Comparison of these data with those in neighbouring nuclei and also against recently reported criteria for chiral bands in nuclei, suggests that the two structures can be interpreted as chiral partners. Core quasi-particle coupling model calculations show reasonable agreement with the data and generally support the chiral interpretation of the states.

A novel background subtraction method for Doppler-shift attenuation and angular correlation measurements with large multi-detector HpGe arrays is presented. The formalism is designed for recently developed data base storage techniques with the event format resembling the original raw data structure. The background spectrum is constructed based on parameters extracted from one-dimensional spectra; the method, therefore, is complementary to currently applied methods which are designed for multi-dimensional, symmetrized histograms.

High-spin states in the doubly odd N = 77 nucleus 132Cs have been studied. Gamma-ray linear polarization and angular correlation measurements have been performed to determine the spin and parity of the states. A rotational sequence of enhanced dipole transitions was established. This band can be described within the framework of the the tilted axis cranking (TAC) model as a band based on a weakly deformed structure in which the total angular momentum vector does not coincide with any of the principal axes of the triaxial nucleus but still is in the plane defined by the short and long axes. The theoretical description of the previously proposed chiral bands in 132Cs was extended in the framework of the core–particle coupling model (CPCM) confirming that the total angular momentum for the πh11/2 ⊗ νh11/2 configuration is well outside any planes defined by the principal axes of the nucleus and revealing the important role of the residual proton–neutron interaction between the valence particles.

Background: Candida Associated Denture Stomatitis is the prevalent fungal pathosis in denture wearers, especially in immunocompromized patients. Existing antifungal agents are ineffective since the Candida species become resistant and also, they become toxic. Origanum vulgare is a herbal plant with high anti-fungal activity against Candida of blood and urine origin. However, it has never been explored against Candida from oral cavity. Materials & Methodology: Dry leaves of the plant were purchased and authenticated. Oil extraction was done using Hydro-distillation method. Clinical isolates of Candida from denture wearers was speciated using CHROMagar. Well Diffusion test was used to confirm the antifungal activity. Hydro-distillation & Maceration methods of extraction were compared. MIC/MFC was determined using CSLI guidelines. Infra-Red Spectroscopy was used to identify the active functional group. Results: O.vulgare showed 30±3mm of zone of inhibition as against 19mm for fluconazole. The suitable extraction method was Hydro-distillation. MIC & MFC were found to be 0.024% and 0.097% respectively which was much lesser than for fluconazole (0.25%). The active functional group had chemically similar structure as Carvacrol, usually found in antifungal herbs. Conclusion: within the limitations of the study, it was concluded that (a)O.vulgare is anticandidal for clinical isolates of oral Candida, (b) Hydro-distillation is an effective method as compared to Maceration (c) MIC & MFC are much lower than that of fluconazole (d) the major functional group was structurally similar to Carvacrol.

Diethyl phthalate (DEP) is used as a plasticizer, a detergent base, in aerosol sprays, as a perfume binder in incense sticks and after-shave lotions. It is known to be a contaminant of freshwater and marine ecosystems. Therefore, a study was designed to determine the toxic effects of DEP on a freshwater fish, Cirrhina mrigala. The fish was treated with 25, 50, 75, and 100 ppm (w/v) DEP dissolved in acetone to determine the LC50. Positive controls were treated with acetone only. There was 100% mortality observed within 24 h in 75 and 100 ppm, and 50% mortality in 50 ppm treated fish in 72 h. Those treated at 25 ppm showed only 10% mortality within 72 h and remaining fish continued to survive. The surviving fish were treated with 25 ppm DEP once daily for 3 days with every change of water (Group III). One group was maintained as negative control in dechlorinated water (Group I) and the other group received acetone once daily for 3 days with every change of water and was used as positive control (Group II). Fish were killed by cold narcosis on an ice block and dissected to obtain liver, muscle, and brain samples; 10% homogenates in ice-cold saline were prepared. Brain and muscle acetylcholinesterase (AchE) activity was measured. Liver aspartate (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and liver and muscle succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) alkaline and acid phosphate (ALP and ACP) were measured. There was a significant increase in liver and muscle ACP and ALP in DEP-treated fish compared with positive and negative controls. There was a significant increase in muscle SDH and liver ALT (ALT) in DEP-treated fish compared with positive and negative controls. Brain AchE level was significantly decreased in DEP-treated fish compared to positive and negative controls. These results indicate that DEP brings about significant changes in the activity of certain liver and muscle enzymes. These alterations in enzyme activity may have long-term effects on that are continuously exposed to low doses of DEP in the aquatic environment.

Three sets of chiral doublet band structures have been identified in the $^{103}\mathrm{Rh}$ nucleus. The properties of the observed chiral doublet bands are in good agreement with theoretical results obtained using constrained covariant density functional theory and particle rotor model calculations. Two of them belong to an identical configuration and provide the first experimental evidence for a novel type of multiple chiral doublets, where an ``excited'' chiral doublet of a configuration is seen together with the ``yrast'' one. This observation shows that the chiral geometry in nuclei can be robust against the increase of the intrinsic excitation energy.