Giant magnetothermal conductivity and magnetostriction effect in charge ordered Nd0.8_{0.8}Na0.2_{0.2}MnO3_{3} compound

We present results on resistivity ($\rho$), magnetization ($M$), thermal conductivity ($\kappa$), magnetostriction ($\frac{\Delta L}{L(0)}$) and specific heat ($C_{p}$) of charge-orbital ordered antiferromagnetic Nd$_{0.8}$Na$_{0.2}$MnO$_{3}$ compound. Magnetic field-induced antiferromagnetic/charge-orbital ordered insulating to ferromagnetic metallic transition leads to giant magnetothermal conductivity and magnetostriction effect. The low-temperature irreversibility behavior in $\rho$, $M$, $\kappa$ and $\frac{\Delta L}{L(0)}$ due to field cycling together with striking similarity among the field and temperature dependence of these parameters manifest the presence of strong and complex spin-charge-lattice coupling in this compound. The giant magnetothermal conductivity is attributed mainly to the suppression of phonon scattering due to the destabilization of spin fluctuations and static/dynamic Jahn-Teller distortion by the application of magnetic field.Comment: 4 Pages, 4 Figure

Diverse hypolithic refuge communities in the McMurdo Dry Valleys

Hyper-arid deserts present extreme challenges to life. The environmental buffering provided by quartz and other translucent rocks allows hypolithic microbial communities to develop on sub-soil surfaces of such rocks. These refuge communities have been reported, for many locations worldwide, to be predominantly cyanobacterial in nature. Here we report the discovery in Antarctica’s hyper-arid McMurdo Dry Valleys of three clearly distinguishable types of hypolithic community. Based on gross colonization morphology and identification of dominant taxa, we have classified hypolithic communities as Type I (cyanobacterial dominated), Type II (fungal dominated) and Type III (moss dominated). This discovery supports a growing awareness of the high biocomplexity in Antarctic deserts, emphasizes the possible importance of cryptic microbial communities in nutrient cycling and provides evidence for possible successional community processes within a cold arid landscape

Modelling of non-conventional instrument transformers (NCIT) by FEM

In this paper, we have shown that the proposed non-conventional instrument transformer using magnetic shape memory (MSM) alloys can be used for current measurement in high voltage overhead transmission lines. By modelling one of the most used conductors at high voltage overhead transmission lines (400kV, 300–600A, AC) and our sensor consisting of a magnetic circuit and an MSM element, NCIT's design was optimised for these lines and it was shown that the typical values of electrical current expected in a normal working regime would trigger the MSM element. Different designs of magnetic circuits were modelled in ANSYS APDL and discussed, comparing the obtained results for several different materials for magnetic circuit

Side effects of phenobarbital and carbamazepine in childhood epilepsy: randomised controlled trial

Objective: To compare the behavioural side effects associated with two commonly used antiepilepsy drugs--phenobarbital and carbamazepine--in children in Bangladesh. Design: Prospective randomised controlled single centre trial. Setting: Specialist children's hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Participants: 108 children aged 2-15 with generalised tonic-clonic (n=51) or partial and secondary generalised seizures (n=57). Main outcome measures: Seizure control and behavioural side effects. Results: 91 children were followed up for 12 months. Six required a change of antiepilepsy drug. Side effects were compared in 85 children. In the last quarter of the 12 month follow-up, 71 children were seizure free after one year's treatment. Thirty two in the phenobarbital group and 39 in the carbamazepine group had no seizures in 74 and 102 days after randomisation, respectively. Ten children had increased behavioural problems, which were unacceptable in four (one in the phenobarbital group and three in the carbamazepine group). Independent t tests, however, showed no difference between the two trial drugs. Conclusion: There was no excess in behavioural side effects with phenobarbital in children with epilepsy in a country with limited resources

Chiral perturbation theory with Wilson-type fermions including a2a^2 effects: Nf=2N_f=2 degenerate case

We have derived the quark mass dependence of $m_{\pi}^2$, $m_{\rm AWI}$ and $f_{\pi}$, using the chiral perturbation theory which includes the $a^2$ effect associated with the explicit chiral symmetry breaking of the Wilson-type fermions, in the case of the $N_f=2$ degenerate quarks. Distinct features of the results are (1) the additive renormalization for the mass parameter $m_q$ in the Lagrangian, (2) $O(a)$ corrections to the chiral log ($m_q\log m_q$) term, (3) the existence of more singular term, $\log m_q$, generated by $a^2$ contributions, and (4) the existence of both $m_q\log m_q$ and $\log m_q$ terms in the quark mass from the axial Ward-Takahashi identity, $m_{\rm AWI}$. By fitting the mass dependence of $m_\pi^2$ and $m_{\rm AWI}$, obtained by the CP-PACS collaboration for $N_f=2$ full QCD simulations, we have found that the data are consistently described by the derived formulae. Resumming the most singular terms $\log m_q$, we have also derived the modified formulae, which show a better control over the next-to-leading order correction.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures (10 eps files), Revtex4, some discussions and references added, the final version to appear in PR

Evolution of induced axial magnetization in a two-component magnetized plasma

In this paper, the evolution of the induced axial magnetization due to the propagation of an electromagnetic (em) wave along the static background magnetic field in a two-component plasma has been investigated using the Block equation. The evolution process induces a strong magnetic anisotropy in the plasma medium, depending nonlinearly on the incident wave amplitude. This induced magnetic anisotropy can modify the dispersion relation of the incident em wave, which has been obtained in this paper. In the low frequency Alfven wave limit, this dispersion relation shows that the resulting phase velocity of the incident wave depends on the square of the incident wave amplitude and on the static background magnetic field of plasma. The analytical results are in well agreement with the numerically estimated values in solar corona and sunspots.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur

Role of non-timber forest products in sustaining forest-based livelihoods and rural households' resilience capacity in and around protected area- a Bangladesh study

People in developing world derive a significant part of their livelihoods from various forest products, particularly non-timber forest products. This article attempts to explore the contribution of NTFPs in sustaining forest-based rural livelihood in and around a protected area of Bangladesh, and their potential role in enhancing households resilience capacity. Based on empirical investigation our study revealed that, local communities gather a substantial amount of NTFPs from national park despite the official restrictions. 27 percent households of the area received at least some cash benefit from the collection, processing and selling of NTFPs, and NTFPs contribute as HHs primary, supplementary and emergency sources of income. NTFPs also constituted an estimated 19 percent of HHs net annual income, and were the primary occupation for about 18 percent of the HHs. HHs dependency on nearby forests for various NTFPs varied vis-a-vis their socio-economic condition as well as with their location from the park. Based on our case study the article also offers some clues for improving the situation in PA.Comment: To appear in Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 201

The Performance Evaluation of Lightweight Concrete Piles on UTHM's Soft Soil under Static and Dynamic Loading Tests

Light-weight concrete generally has low density and low strength compared with normalconcrete, the use of the lightweight concrete for piling is still very rare due to high porosityand underestimate the strength. This research was done to find out the performance of lightweight concrete piles (LCP’s) which were made by Palm Oil Clinker (POC) and FoamedConcrete (FC) and to compare their performance with normal concrete pile (NC).Conventional static load test (slow maintained load test, SM) using kenteledge system toobtain pile capacities were performed for those three type of piles (NC, POC and FC)embedded in soft soil at RECESS, UTHM, Batu Pahat. Performance of piles were alsoevaluated using Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA) in dynamic loading. The results shows closecorrelation between static and dynamic test results and the stresses of compression and tensileunder both loadings were within the allowable limit state thus, the application of LCP’s fordeep foundation on soft soil is feasible

Influence of pH, temperature and glucose on biodegradation of 4-aminophenol by a novel bacterial strain, Pseudomonas sp. ST-4

Aromatic compounds such as 4-aminophenol are toxic to the environment and thus should be eliminated effectively. Biodegradation of aromatic compounds is an efficient and environment friendly technique as addition of selected microbes does not add any kind of pollutants and actively remove even the most recalcitrant pollutants. We investigated the effectiveness of Pseudomonas sp. strain ST- 4 in the biodegradation of 4-aminophenol under variable pH, temperature and glucose regimes and sorted out optimum conditions for maximum biodegradation of 4-aminophenol. Maximum biodegradation of 4-aminophenol by Pseudomonas sp. strain ST- 4 was observed at pH 8, temperature 30°C and glucose concentration of 15 mM at 72 h, respectively