Spin wave resonances in La_{0.7}Sr_{0.3}MnO_{3} films: measurement of spin wave stiffness and anisotropy field

We studied magnetic field dependent microwave absorption in epitaxial La$_{0.7}$Sr$_{0.3}$MnO$_{3}$ films using an X-band Bruker ESR spectrometer. By analyzing angular and temperature dependence of the ferromagnetic and spin-wave resonances we determine spin-wave stiffness and anisotropy field. The spin-wave stiffness as found from the spectrum of the standing spin-wave resonances in thin films is in fair agreement with the results of inelastic neutron scattering studies on a single crystal of the same composition [Vasiliu-Doloc et al., J. Appl. Phys. \textbf{83}, 7343 (1998)].Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures (now figure captions are included

Heterotrophic bacterial populations and dehydrogenase activity in fish ponds under different fertilisation practices

TThe ranges of aerobic heterotrophic bacterial populations in fish culture ponds (0.04 ha) under four manurial treatments, (1) cow manure at 10 t ha-1 yr-1; urea at 100 kg N ha-1 yr-1 and single super phosphate at 50 kg P ha-1 yr-1, (2) biogas slurry at 15 t ha-1 yr-1 and inorganic fertilisers, (3) biogas slurry at 30 t ha-1 yr-1, and (4) biogas slurry at 30 t ha-1 yr-1, with supplementary feeds assessed over a period of 15 months, were 0.28-4.44,0.30-3.86, 0.48-3.81 and 0.70-4.38 x103 ml-1 with means of 1.49,1.43,1.94 and 2.08 x103 ml-1. The sediment heterotrophic bacterial counts presented a similar pattern of variation with ranges of 1.20-6.71, 1.29-4.13, 2.04-9.92 and 2.66-11.07 x105 g-1 and mean values of 3.28, 2.62, 4.87 and 5.08 x105 g-1 in the four treatments. Water temperature and water depth were in the ranges of 20.8-30.2 °C and 0.8 to 1.8 m. The ranges of different water quality parameters were pH, D.O, NH4-N, NO2-N, NO3-N, PO4-P and dissolved organic matter were 7.4-8.5, 3.5-6.1 mg l-1, 3.25-22.66, 4.63-28.95, 10.04-48.98 mg-at N l-1, 0.03-0.54 and 2.1-9.5 mg l-1. The variations in the dehydrogenase activity of the surface sediment layers, indicative of the total bacterial activity were 0.06-0.46, 0.11-0.36, 0.19-0.87 and 0.02-0.94 mg triphenyl formazone per g sediment per day with the mean levels being 0.48, 0.41, 0.28 and 0.23 mg triphenyl formazone per g sediment per day. It is apparent that the activity was higher in treatments 3 and 4. This corroborates the observations on higher heterotrophic bacterial counts in the sediments of treatments 3 and 4, attributable to availability of processed substrate as compared to the ponds with application of raw cow manure. This also suggests better sediment-water interactions in slurry-applied ponds in comparison to traditional manuring practices

Self-Cleaning Glass of Photocatalytic Anatase TiO2@Carbon Nanotubes Thin Film by Polymer-Assisted Approach

Due to the good photocatalytic activity, the TiO2@CNTs thin film is highly desirable to apply to the self-cleaning glass for green intelligent building. Here, the TiO2@CNTs thin film has been successfully achieved by polymer-assisted approach of an aqueous chemical solution method. The polymer, polyethylenimine, aims to combine the Ti4+ with CNTs for film formation of TiO2@CNTs. The resultant thin film was uniform, highly transparent, and super-hydrophilic. Owing to fast electron transport and effectively hindering electron-hole recombination, the TiO2@CNTs thin film has nearly twofold photocatalytic performance than pure TiO2. The TiO2@CNTs thin films show a good application for self-cleaning glasses

Signals in the Soil: An Introduction to Wireless Underground Communications

In this chapter, wireless underground (UG) communications are introduced. A detailed overview of WUC is given. A comprehensive review of research challenges in WUC is presented. The evolution of underground wireless is also discussed. Moreover, different component of UG communications is wireless. The WUC system architecture is explained with a detailed discussion of the anatomy of an underground mote. The examples of UG wireless communication systems are explored. Furthermore, the differences of UG wireless and over-the-air wireless are debated. Different types of wireless underground channel (e.g., In-Soil, Soil-to-Air, and Air-to-Soil) are reported as well

Utilization of distillery wastewater for improving production in underproductive paddy grown area in India

560-563This study presents a field experiment by using treated wastewater of cane molasses distilleries (DE) for improvingcropping in underproductive area (acidic red and laterite soil) in Orissa. Grain and straw yield and nutrients’ uptake weresubstantially improved over normal practice. Wastewater (@ 120 m3/ha) was found as most favorable concentration for growingpaddy in acidic, red and laterite soil area