Magnetoelectric effects in an organo-metallic quantum magnet

We observe a bilinear magnetic field-induced electric polarization of 50 $\mu C/m^2$ in single crystals of NiCl$_2$-4SC(NH$_2$)$_2$ (DTN). DTN forms a tetragonal structure that breaks inversion symmetry, with the highly polar thiourea molecules all tilted in the same direction along the c-axis. Application of a magnetic field between 2 and 12 T induces canted antiferromagnetism of the Ni spins and the resulting magnetization closely tracks the electric polarization. We speculate that the Ni magnetic forces acting on the soft organic lattice can create significant distortions and modify the angles of the thiourea molecules, thereby creating a magnetoelectric effect. This is an example of how magnetoelectric effects can be constructed in organo-metallic single crystals by combining magnetic ions with electrically polar organic elements.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Improving the quality of care of children in community clinics: an intervention and evaluation in Bangladesh.

Community health care providers (CHCPs) in 40 rural community clinics of Comilla district, Bangladesh, were trained using a newly developed case-management job aid based on the World Health Organization Integrated Management of Childhood Illness and a communication guide.To assess 1) the change in knowledge of the CHCPs after training; 2) the absolute quality of care provided by the CHCPs (determined as the proportion of children aged <5 years [under-fives] correctly diagnosed, treated and referred); and 3) the consultation behaviour of the CHCPs.Change in knowledge was assessed by tests pre-and post-training. The quality of care was determined by reassessments at the clinic exit by a medical officer, without a baseline comparison. Consultation behaviour was assessed through direct observation. The study was performed during 2014-2015.The mean standard knowledge score of the CH-CPs increased from 19 to 25 (P < 0.001). Of 1490 under-fives examined, 91% were correctly diagnosed, 86% were correctly treated and 99.5% received a correct referral decision. The CHCPs performed well on most of the measures of good communication, although one third did not explain the diagnosis and treatment to patients.The training was effective in changing knowledge. The CHCPs applied the knowledge gained and provided good quality care. Following these results, the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has scaled up the training nationwide. The lessons learnt should be useful for other countries

Tufa stromatolite ecosystems on the South African south coast

Following the first description of living marine stromatolites along the South African east coast, new investigations along the south coast have revealed the occurrence of extensive fields of actively calcifying stromatolites. These stromatolites have been recorded at regular distances along a 200-km stretch of coastline, from Cape Recife in the east to the Storms River mouth in the west, with the highest density found between Schoenmakerskop and the Maitland River mouth. All active stromatolites are associated with freshwater seepage streams flowing from the dune cordon, which form rimstone dams and other accretions capable of retaining water in the supratidal platform. Resulting pools can reach a maximum depth of about 1 m and constitute a unique ecosystem in which freshwater and marine organisms alternate their dominance in response to vertical mixing and the balance between freshwater versus marine inflow. Although the factors controlling stromatolite growth are yet to be determined, nitrogen appears to be supplied mainly via the dune seeps. The epibenthic algal community within stromatolite pools is generally co-dominated by cyanobacteria and chlorophytes, with minimal diatom contribution

Synchro Software-Based Alternatives for Improving Traffic Operations at Signalized Intersections

Traffic congestion is a considerable problem in urban arterials, especially at signalized intersections. Signalized intersections are critical elements of the highway system, thus improving their performance would significantly influence the overall operating performance of the system in terms of delay and level of service (LOS). The aim of this study is to assess the capacity performance of two signalized intersections in Duhok city, namely, Zari land intersection and Salahaddin Mosque intersection using the procedure in the Highway Capacity Manual and Synchro software. Total intersection delay, LOS, and volume to capacity ratio (v/c) were the measures of effectiveness used for comparison purposes. Different optimization alternatives have been tested to improve current and future performance. The results have shown that the Zari land intersection is currently operating at LOS F with an average delay of 590 s/veh and high values of v/c at specific movements. Results of optimization show that the scenario of creating an overpass with a change in cycle length and adding one additional lane in each direction is the best alternative to improve its performance to the LOS D with the maximum v/c ratio of 0.86. For Salahaddin Mosque intersection, the delay can be reduced from 544 s/veh (LOS F) with high values of v/c at the major street through movement to an average delay of 70 s/veh (LOS E) and maximum v/c ratio of 1, when cycle length and geometrics are changed, and approaching traffic from the minor street is prohibited

Competing biosecurity and risk rationalities in the Chittagong poultry commodity chain, Bangladesh

This paper anthropologically explores how key actors in the Chittagong live bird trading network perceive biosecurity and risk in relation to avian influenza between production sites, market maker scenes and outlets. They pay attention to the past and the present, rather than the future, downplaying the need for strict risk management, as outbreaks have not been reported frequently for a number of years. This is analysed as ‘temporalities of risk perception regarding biosecurity’, through Black Swan theory, the idea that unexpected events with major effects are often inappropriately rationalized (Taleb in The Black Swan. The impact of the highly improbable, Random House, New York, 2007). This incorporates a sociocultural perspective on risk, emphasizing the contexts in which risk is understood, lived, embodied and experienced. Their risk calculation is explained in terms of social consent, practical intelligibility and convergence of constraints and motivation. The pragmatic and practical orientation towards risk stands in contrast to how risk is calculated in the avian influenza preparedness paradigm. It is argued that disease risk on the ground has become a normalized part of everyday business, as implied in Black Swan theory. Risk which is calculated retrospectively is unlikely to encourage investment in biosecurity and, thereby, points to the danger of unpredictable outlier events

Liquid crystalline dendrimer: Sythesis and Chracterization

A new family of nematic liquid crystal dendrimers derived from 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid were synthesized. The synthesis of the dendrimers compounds shows the influence of the dendritic core on the mesomorphic properties. The liquid crystalline properties were studied by polarizing optical microscopy (POM) equipped with a hot stage, the structures of the synthesized compounds characterized using FTIR and 1HNMR spectroscopy

Perturbative expansion for master equation and it applications

We construct generally applicable small-loss rate expansions for the density operator of an open system. Successive terms of those expansions yield characteristic loss rates for dissipation processes. Three applications are presented in order to give further insight into the context of those expansions. The first application, of a two-level atom coupling to a bosonic environment, shows the procedure and the advantage of the expansion, whereas the second application that consists of a single mode field in a cavity with linewidth $\kappa$ due to partial transmission through one mirror illustrates a practical use of those expansions in quantum measurements, and the third one, for an atom coupled to modes of a lossy cavity shows the another use of the perturbative expansion.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur

Access and utilisation of primary health care services comparing urban and rural areas of Riyadh Providence, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has seen an increase in chronic diseases. International evidence suggests that early intervention is the best approach to reduce the burden of chronic disease. However, the limited research available suggests that health care access remains unequal, with rural populations having the poorest access to and utilisation of primary health care centres and, consequently, the poorest health outcomes. This study aimed to examine the factors influencing the access to and utilisation of primary health care centres in urban and rural areas of Riyadh province of the KSA

The production of ordinariness in the accounts of perpetrators of gross human rights violations.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.This dissertation explores the construction of ordinariness in the accounts of perpetrators of gross human rights violations, who commit their actions in the context of a system. A review of the literature that conceived of perpetrators in this way was undertaken. This was done whilst exploring the social constructionist paradigm, which formed the theoretical backbone to the study. Discourse analysis was the methodology adopted for the two analyses that were undertaken in the thesis. The first was the analysis of the literature review, which was undertaken in order to see how ordinariness was constructed in the literature. The second analysis was that of the transcript of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Amnesty hearing of the applicant Daniel Petrus Siebert, into the death of Steve Biko. The analyses indicate that there is much similiarity in the ways in which ordinariness is constructed in the local context, and the ways in which it is constructed in the literature. Ordinariness in the context of gross human rights violations is produced through constructions of the perpetrator and the system within which the acts were committed, as passive and active respectively. The construction of the system as the epitome of the evil that is perpetrated enables the humanity or ordinariness of the perpetrator to be kept intact. Ordinariness in the South African context, is based on racist constructions of good whiteness, and bad blackness. Further, in the local political context, the TRC provides the conditions of possibility for the production of ordinariness, and ensures that perpetrators and others who benefited during the apartheid regime, continue to do so, as issues of accountability and responsibility are not adequately addressed