Impact of Cyclone Vardha on fishers and their livelihoods

The Vardah Cyclone struck Chennai, Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur coastal districts of Tamil Nadu on 12th December 2016 and impacted nearly 25000 fisher families. Wind speed of 140 km/hour and tidal waves inundated the low lying areas of coastal villages causing very heavy damage

Tunability of the spin reorientation transitions with pressure in NdCo5

We present pressure-dependent magnetization measurements carried out in the domain of the spin reorientation transitions (SRTs) of a NdCo5 single crystal. The application of a hydrostatic pressure leads to a shift in the SRTs to higher temperatures. This shift is found to be very sensitive to pressure, with the SRT temperatures increasing at a rate of ≈17 K/GPa. To explain the experimental results, we have also performed first-principles calculations of the SRT temperatures for different applied strains, which corroborate the experimental findings. The calculations attribute the pressure dependence of the SRTs to a faster weakening of the Co contribution to the magnetocrystalline anisotropy with pressure compared to the Nd contribution

Traditional knowledge among fishers of coastal Tamil Nadu with special reference to climate change

Traditional knowledge is an excellent tool for understanding extreme events related to climate change. The Tamil Nadu fishers have extensive Traditional knowledge related to climate change

Torque magnetometry study of the spin reorientation transition and temperature-dependent magnetocrystalline anisotropy in NdCo5

We present the results of torque magnetometry and magnetic susceptibility measurements to study in detail the spin reorientation transition (SRT) and magnetic anisotropy in the permanent magnet NdCo5. We further show simulations of the measurements using first-principles calculations based on density-functional theory and the disordered local moment picture of magnetism at finite temperatures. The good agreement between theory and experimental data leads to a detailed description of the physics underpinning the SRT. In particular we are able to resolve the magnetization of, and to reveal a canting between, the Nd and Co sublattices. The torque measurements carried out in the ac and ab planes near the easy direction allow us to estimate the anisotropy constants, K 1, K 2 and K 4 and their temperature dependences. Torque curves, τ(γ) recorded by varying the direction of a constant magnetic field in the crystallographic ac plane show a reversal in the polarity as the temperature is changed across the SRT (240 < T < 285 K). Within this domain, τ(γ) exhibits unusual features different to those observed above and below the transition. The single crystals of NdCo5 were grown using the optical floating zone technique

Surface resonance of the (2×1) reconstructed lanthanum hexaboride (001)-cleavage plane : a combined STM and DFT study

We performed a combined study of the (001)-cleavage plane of lanthanum hexaboride (LaB6) using scanning tunneling microscopy and density-functional theory (DFT). Experimentally, we found a (2×1) reconstructed surface on a local scale. The reconstruction is only short-range ordered and tends to order perpendicularly to step edges. At larger distances from surface steps, the reconstruction evolves to a labyrinthlike pattern. These findings are supported by low-energy electron diffraction experiments. Slab calculations within the framework of DFT show that the atomic structure consists of parallel lanthanum chains on top of boron octahedra. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy shows a prominent spectral feature at −0.6eV. Using DFT, we identify this structure as a surface resonance of the (2×1) reconstructed LaB6 (100) surface which is dominated by boron dangling bond states and lanthanum d states

A systematic review of cost-effectiveness analyses of complex wound interventions reveals optimal treatments for specific wound types.

BackgroundComplex wounds present a substantial economic burden on healthcare systems, costing billions of dollars annually in North America alone. The prevalence of complex wounds is a significant patient and societal healthcare concern and cost-effective wound care management remains unclear. This article summarizes the cost-effectiveness of interventions for complex wound care through a systematic review of the evidence base.MethodsWe searched multiple databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library) for cost-effectiveness studies that examined adults treated for complex wounds. Two reviewers independently screened the literature, abstracted data from full-text articles, and assessed methodological quality using the Drummond 10-item methodological quality tool. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were reported, or, if not reported, calculated and converted to United States Dollars for the year 2013.ResultsOverall, 59 cost-effectiveness analyses were included; 71% (42 out of 59) of the included studies scored 8 or more points on the Drummond 10-item checklist tool. Based on these, 22 interventions were found to be more effective and less costly (i.e., dominant) compared to the study comparators: 9 for diabetic ulcers, 8 for venous ulcers, 3 for pressure ulcers, 1 for mixed venous and venous/arterial ulcers, and 1 for mixed complex wound types.ConclusionsOur results can be used by decision-makers in maximizing the deployment of clinically effective and resource efficient wound care interventions. Our analysis also highlights specific treatments that are not cost-effective, thereby indicating areas of resource savings. Please see related article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12916-015-0288-5

Isoniazid concentrations in hair and plasma area-under-the-curve exposure among children with tuberculosis.

We measured hair and plasma concentrations of isoniazid among sixteen children with tuberculosis who underwent personal or video-assisted directly observed therapy and thus had 100% adherence. This study therefore defined typical isoniazid exposure parameters after two months of treatment among fully-adherent patients in both hair and plasma (plasma area under the concentration-time curve, AUC, estimated using pharmacokinetic data collected 0, 2, 4, and 6 hours after drug administration). We found that INH levels in hair among highly-adherent individuals did not correlate well with plasma AUC or trough concentrations, suggesting that each measure may provide incremental and complementary information regarding drug exposure in the context of TB treatment

Evidence for a hybridization gap in noncentrosymmetric CeRuSi3

Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and specific heat measurements have been performed on the intermediate valence compound CeRuSi3, which is isostructural to the noncentrosymmetric pressure-induced superconductors CeRhSi3, CeIrSi3, and CeCoGe3. INS measurements at 7 K reveal a broad peak at (58.5 ± 1.4) meV, while at 300 K, broad quasielastic scattering is observed. This indicates a large Kondo temperature of TK ~ 680 K. The magnetic contribution to the specific heat (Cmag) has a value of γ = 62.5(1) mJ/molK2 at low temperatures and above about 100 K can be well accounted for by the Coqblin-Schrieffer model with a characteristic temperature of T0 = 680 K, which is further evidence that CeRuSi3 is in the intermediate valence regime

Transaction cost of implementation of seasonal fishing ban in selected maritime states of India

Marine fisheries management is important to ensure sustainable harvest of the fishery resources. In India, the management of fisheries is governed by rules and regulations formulated under the Indian Fisheries Act, 1897. The development of marine fisheries in the territorial waters extending up to 12 nautical miles from the shore is under the jurisdiction of the maritime states who have formulated rules and regulations for management of the resources which by and large prohibit use of destructive gears, explosives and poison for fishing. Among regulatory measures formulated for management of marine fisheries in India, the seasonal fishing ban (SFB) is the one measure that is diligently followed

Calculating the magnetic anisotropy of rare-earth/transition-metal ferrimagnets

Magnetocrystalline anisotropy, the microscopic origin of permanent magnetism, is often explained in terms of ferromagnets. However, the best performing permanent magnets based on rare earths and transition metals (RE-TM) are in fact \emph{ferri}magnets, consisting of a number of magnetic sublattices. Here we show how a naive calculation of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the classic RE-TM ferrimagnet GdCo5 gives numbers which are too large at 0~K and exhibit the wrong temperature dependence. We solve this problem by introducing a first-principles approach to calculate temperature-dependent magnetization vs.field (\FPMvB) curves, mirroring the experiments actually used to determine the anisotropy. We pair our calculations with measurements on a recently-grown single crystal of GdCo5, and find excellent agreement. The \FPMvB approach demonstrates a new level of sophistication in the use of first-principles calculations to understand RE-TM magnets