960 research outputs found
Clash between purse seine and artisanal fishermen at cochin
The introduction of purse seining in Kerala in the traditional grounds has been vehemently opposed by the indigenous fishermen and has, on many occasions, resulted in skirmishes between the two from the very beginning. This articles discusses about the conflict between purse seine and artisanal fishermen and suggestions to minimize this conflicts are specified
Observation of Pure Spin Transport in a Diamond Spin Wire
Spin transport electronics - spintronics - focuses on utilizing electron spin
as a state variable for quantum and classical information processing and
storage. Some insulating materials, such as diamond, offer defect centers whose
associated spins are well-isolated from their environment giving them long
coherence times; however, spin interactions are important for transport,
entanglement, and read-out. Here, we report direct measurement of pure spin
transport - free of any charge motion - within a nanoscale quasi 1D 'spin
wire', and find a spin diffusion length ~ 700 nm. We exploit the statistical
fluctuations of a small number of spins ( < 100 net spins) which are
in thermal equilibrium and have no imposed polarization gradient. The spin
transport proceeds by means of magnetic dipole interactions that induce
flip-flop transitions, a mechanism that can enable highly efficient, even
reversible, pure spin currents. To further study the dynamics within the spin
wire, we implement a magnetic resonance protocol that improves spatial
resolution and provides nanoscale spectroscopic information which confirms the
observed spin transport. This spectroscopic tool opens a potential route for
spatially encoding spin information in long-lived nuclear spin states. Our
measurements probe intrinsic spin dynamics at the nanometre scale, providing
detailed insight needed for practical devices which seek to control spin.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, under consideration at Nature Nanotechnolog
First-principles calculations of step formation energies and step interactions on TiN(001)
We study the formation energies and repulsive interactions of monatomic steps
on the TiN(001) surface, using density functional total-energy calculations.
The calculated formation energy of [100] oriented steps agree well with
recently reported experimental values; these steps are shown to have a rumpled
structure, with the Ti atoms undergoing larger displacements than the N atoms.
For steps that are parallel to [110], our calculations predict a nitrogen (N)
termination, as the corresponding formation energy is several hundred meV/\AA \
smaller than that of Ti-terminated steps
Bunching Transitions on Vicinal Surfaces and Quantum N-mers
We study vicinal crystal surfaces with the terrace-step-kink model on a
discrete lattice. Including both a short-ranged attractive interaction and a
long-ranged repulsive interaction arising from elastic forces, we discover a
series of phases in which steps coalesce into bunches of n steps each. The
value of n varies with temperature and the ratio of short to long range
interaction strengths. We propose that the bunch phases have been observed in
very recent experiments on Si surfaces. Within the context of a mapping of the
model to a system of bosons on a 1D lattice, the bunch phases appear as quantum
n-mers.Comment: 5 pages, RevTex; to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Extended Universality of the Surface Curvature in Equilibrium Crystal Shapes
We investigate the universal property of curvatures in surface models which
display a flat phase and a rough phase whose criticality is described by the
Gaussian model. Earlier we derived a relation between the Hessian of the free
energy and the Gaussian coupling constant in the six-vertex model. Here we show
its validity in a general setting using renormalization group arguments. The
general validity of the relation is confirmed numerically in the RSOS model by
comparing the Hessian of the free energy and the Gaussian coupling constant in
a transfer matrix finite-size-scaling study. The Hessian relation gives clear
understanding of the universal curvature jump at roughening transitions and
facet edges and also provides an efficient way of locating the phase
boundaries.Comment: 19 pages, RevTex, 3 Postscript Figures, To appear in Phys. Rev.
Effect of salinity and pH on selected immune functions of the Indian white shrimp, Fenneropenaeus indicus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837)
The Indian white shrimp, Fenneropenaeus indicus, was subjected to environmental stresses like high (9) and low (5.5) water
pH and decreasing water salinity (34 ‰ to 18 ‰) for a period of one week and certain vital immunological functions like
total hemocyte count, total hemolymph protein and phenoloxidase activity were analysed to understand the effect of the
environmental stress factors on these functions. The results indicated that while stress induced by change in the salinity had
no damaging effects on the immune functions, stress caused by lower water pH induced more immunological damage when
compared to higher water pH. Significantly decreased total hemocyte count and phenoloxidase activity were observed in
shrimps exposed to lower pH when compared to shrimps exposed to higher pH and control shrimps. Also, lower pH significantly
reduced the hemolymph protein values. It is therefore concluded that Fenneropenaeus indicus that are exposed to extreme
pH show lowered immunological activity which would render the shrimp susceptible to infectious agents
Fluctuations in the mackerel catches at Cochin
The heavy catches of mackerel were observed during 21st and 28th September. 1982 ,at the Fisheries Harbour, Cochin,by purse-seiners, and since these are quite unprecedented in the recent past, observations made on the biology of the fish and its fishery are presented. The overall size-range of the fish during the month was 153-276 mm and the modal sizes varied between 180 and 250 mm suggesting that the fishery was supported mainly by 1-year and 2-years-old individuals. A majority of fish (58%) were in spent condition followed by immature, spent-recovering and developing individuals. The 92% of the bumper catch of 21st September comprised of spent fish followed by spent-recovering individuals of 2-years-old. Size ranges and dominant modal sizes of mackerel in the purse seine catches during September were compared. The high catch rates, on some these days in September indicates that the mackerel shoals available in the inshore waters were not adequately exploited before the introduction of purse seiners in the area.The comparison of results of the monthly mackerel landings and temperature and salinity values at different centres by various authors reveals that certain optimal levels of temperature and salinity is suitable for the mackerel fishery
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