An Integrated Assessment Of The Suitability Of Domestic Solar Still As A Viable Safe Water Technology For India

Improving access to safe drinking water can result in multi-dimensional impacts on people's livelihood. This has been aptly reflected in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) as one of the major objectives. Despite the availability of diverse and complex set of technologies for water purification, pragmatic and cost-effective use of the same is impeding the use of available sources of water. Hence, in country like India simple low-energy technologies such as solar still are likely to succeed. Solar stills would suffice the basic minimum drinking water requirements of man. Solar stills use sunlight, to kill or inactivate many, if not all, of the pathogens found in water. This paper provides an integrated assessment of the suitability of domestic solar still as a viable safe water technology for India. Also an attempt has been made to critically assess the operational feasibility and costs incurred for using this technology in rural India.

Zero-bias conductance and energy gap measurements in LaNiO3-YBa2Cu3O7-x junctions

Conductance measurements of junctions between a high- superconductor and a metallic oxide have been carried out along the a-b plane to examine the tunnel-junction spectra. For these measurements, in situ films have been grown on c-axis oriented thin films using the pulsed laser deposition technique. Two distinctive energy gaps have been observed along with conductance peaks around zero bias. The analysis of zero-bias conductance and energy gap data suggests the presence of midgap states located at the centre of a finite energy gap. The results obtained are also in accordance with the d-wave nature of high- superconductors.

Uniformity in Bias Tilt for Nematics Oriented by Polyvinyl Alcohol Surface Layers

Uniformity in bias tilt, for the polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)surface layer induced orientation of nematic liquid crystals, could be achieved for large area display panels, if one of the transparent electrodes is first directionally rubbed with fine abrasive; then both the electrodes coated with PVA, followed by directionally buffing the chemisorbed layers in the same direction. Uniformity may be due to increased 'train' configuration of the adsorbed macromolecule by falling on to microgrooves and maintaining the same sense of asymmetry for the looped segments.

Charge transport in a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid: Effects of pumping and bias

We study the current produced in a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid by an applied bias and by weak, pointlike impurity potentials which are oscillating in time. We use bosonization to perturbatively calculate the current up to second order in the impurity potentials. In the regime of small bias and low pumping frequency, both the dc and ac components of the current have power-law dependences on the bias and pumping frequencies with an exponent 2K-1 for spinless electrons, where K is the interaction parameter. For K < 1/2, the current grows large for special values of the bias. For noninteracting electrons with K=1, our results agree with those obtained using Floquet scattering theory for Dirac fermions. We also discuss the cases of extended impurities and of spin-1/2 electrons.

Reverse bias capacitance measurements on copper-doped germanium p-n junctions in the breakdown region

Results of measurements at a high frequency on reverse bias capacitance of copper-doped germanium junctions are reported. Phenomenal increase in capacitance is found in the breakdown region, particularly at low temperatures.

Systematic bias in MODIS dust aerosol retrieval at Kanpur (AERONET), Indo-Gangetic Basin - art.no.640816

We have compared the spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD) and aerosol fine mode fraction (AFMF) derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) with those of Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) at Kanpur (26.45N, 80.35E), northern India for the pre-monsoon season (March to June, 2001-2005). We found that MODIS systematically overestimates AOD during pre-monsoon season (known to be influenced by dust transport from north-west of India). The errors in AOD were correlated with the MODIS top-of-atmosphere apparent surface reflectance in 2.1 mu m channel (rho*(2.1)). MODIS aerosol algorithm uses p*(2.1) to derive the surface reflectance in visible channels (rho(0.47), rho(0.66)) using an empirical mid IR-visible correlation (rho(0.47) = rho(2.1)/4, rho(0.66) = rho(2.1)/2). The large uncertainty in estimating surface reflectance in visible channels (Delta rho(0.66)+/- 0.04, Delta rho(0.47)+/- 0.02) at higher values of p*(2.1) (p*(2.1) > 0.18) leads to higher aerosol contribution in the total reflected radiance at top-of atmosphere to compensate for the reduced surface reflectance in visible channels and thus leads to overestimation of AOD. This was also reflected in the very low values of AFMF during pre-monsoon whose accuracy depends on the aerosol path radiance in 0.47 and 0.66 mu m channels and aerosol models. The errors in AOD were also high in the scattering angle range 110 degrees-140 degrees, where the effect of dust non-spherity on its optical properties is significant. The direct measurements of spectral surface reflectance are required over the Indo-Gangetic basin in order to validate the mid IR-visible relationship. MODIS aerosol models should also be modified to incorporate the effect of non-spherity of dust aerosols.

External Bias Dependent Direct To Indirect Band Gap Transition in Graphene Nanoribbon

In this work, using self-consistent tight-binding calculations. for the first time, we show that a direct to indirect band gap transition is possible in an armchair graphene nanoribbon by the application of an external bias along the width of the ribbon, opening up the possibility of new device applications. With the help of the Dirac equation, we qualitatively explain this band gap transition using the asymmetry in the spatial distribution of the perturbation potential produced inside the nanoribbon by the external bias. This is followed by the verification of the band gap trends with a numerical technique using Magnus expansion of matrix exponentials. Finally, we show that the carrier effective masses possess tunable sharp characters in the vicinity of the band gap transition points.

On reconfirming the evidence for pre-imaginal caste bias in a primitively eusocial wasp

Caste is usually thought to be determined entirely in the adult stage in most primitively eusocial wasps and bees. A pre-imaginal caste bias has however been recently discovered in the primitively eusocial waspRopalidia marginata. This study also suggested that reigning queens and possibly other adults may influence the production of new queens and implied at least partial support to the parental manipulation or sub-fertility hypothesis for the evolution of insect sociality. The interest of these results prompted an attempt at their reconfirmation. Complete reconfirmation has now been obtained using data from an independent experiment and two additional methods of data analysis. We therefore conclude that caste is at least partly determined prior to eclosion in the primitively eusocial waspRopalidia marginata which lacks morphological differentiation between egg-layers and non-egg-layers.

Current State of Domestic Concealed Wiring Practices in Bangalore, India

In a modernising world, building and construction trends in recent urban centres such as Bangalore, set precedence for developments in other urban centres of the country. Under such conditions, evaluating the current state of building practices could prove useful for identifying the likely nature of nationwide building trends. This paper comprises a study to evaluate the current state of domestic concealed wiring practices in the context of a modern urban centre area in India. Presently, concealed wiring is the predominant wiring method adopted for residences, both bungalows and apartments. A modern residential block in the city of Bangalore (India) was chosen as the study area. The study included extensive interaction and surveys amongst residents, professionals (architects and engineers) and site personnel (contractors and electricians). In addition, the study also included site verification on the state of wiring practices in the residential block. The study indicates that while aesthetics was the prime reason that dictated the choice of concealed wiring, its effectiveness as an appropriate and safe wiring method is severely compromised. Details of the study, results and recommendations are presented in this paper.

Reactivation kinetics of boron acceptors in hydrogenated silicon during zero bias anneal

The reactivation kinetics of passivated boron accepters in hydrogenated silicon during zero bias annealing in the temperature range of 65-130 degrees C are reported, For large annealing times and high annealing temperatures, the reactivation process follows second-order kinetics and is rate limited by a thermally activated <(H)over tilde (2)> complex formation process, For short annealing times and low annealing temperatures, the reactivation rate is found to be larger than that due to <(H)over tilde (2)> complex formation alone. We conclude that the faster reactivation is caused by the diffusion of the liberated hydrogen atoms into the bulk as well as <(H)over tilde (2)> complex formation. The effective diffusion coefficient of hydrogen is measured and found to obey the Arrhenius relation with an activation energy (1.41 +/- 0.1) eV. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.

Correction for Bias in Downscaling GCM Simulations for Hydrologic Impact Assessment

In a statistical downscaling model, it is important to remove the bias of General Circulations Model (GCM) outputs resulting from various assumptions about the geophysical processes. One conventional method for correcting such bias is standardisation, which is used prior to statistical downscaling to reduce systematic bias in the mean and variances of GCM predictors relative to the observations or National Centre for Environmental Prediction/ National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis data. A major drawback of standardisation is that it may reduce the bias in the mean and variance of the predictor variable but it is much harder to accommodate the bias in large-scale patterns of atmospheric circulation in GCMs (e.g. shifts in the dominant storm track relative to observed data) or unrealistic inter-variable relationships. While predicting hydrologic scenarios, such uncorrected bias should be taken care of; otherwise it will propagate in the computations for subsequent years. A statistical method based on equi-probability transformation is applied in this study after downscaling, to remove the bias from the predicted hydrologic variable relative to the observed hydrologic variable for a baseline period. The model is applied in prediction of monsoon stream flow of Mahanadi River in India, from GCM generated large scale climatological data.

Effect of substrate bias voltage on the structure, electric and dielectric properties of TiO(2) thin films by DC magnetron sputtering

Titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) films have been deposited on glass and p-silicon (1 0 0) substrates by DC magnetron sputtering technique to investigate their structural, electrical and optical properties. The surface composition of the TiO(2) films has been analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The TiO(2) films formed on unbiased substrates were amorphous. Application of negative bias voltage to the substrate transformed the amorphous TiO(2) into polycrystalline as confirmed by Raman spectroscopic studies. Thin film capacitors with configuration of Al/TiO(2)/p-Si have been fabricated. The leakage current density of unbiased films was 1 x10(-6) A/cm(2) at a gate bias voltage of 1.5 V and it was decreased to 1.41 x 10(-7) A/cm(2) with the increase of substrate bias voltage to -150 V owing to the increase in thickness of interfacial layer of SiO(2). Dielectric properties and AC electrical conductivity of the films were studied at various frequencies for unbiased and biased at -150 V. The capacitance at 1 MHz for unbiased films was 2.42 x 10(-10) F and it increased to 5.8 x 10(-10) F in the films formed at substrate bias voltage of -150 V. Dielectric constant of TiO(2) films were calculated from capacitance-voltage measurements at 1 MHz frequency. The dielectric constant of unbiased films was 6.2 while those formed at -150 V it increased to 19. The optical band gap of the films decreased from 3.50 to 3.42 eV with the increase of substrate bias voltage from 0 to -150 V. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Oscillatory exchange bias and training effects in nanocrystalline Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3

We report on exchange bias effects in 10 nm particles of Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3 which appear as a result of competing interactions between the ferromagnetic (FM)/anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) phases. The fascinating new observation is the demonstration of the temperature dependence of oscillatory exchange bias (OEB) and is tunable as a function of cooling field strength below the SG phase, may be attributable to the presence of charge/spin density wave (CDW/SDW) in the AFM core of PCMO10. The pronounced training effect is noticed at 5 K from the variation of the EB field as a function of number of field cycles (n) upon the field cooling (FC) process. For n > 1, power-law behavior describes the experimental data well; however, the breakdown of spin configuration model is noticed at n >= 1. Copyright 2012 Author(s). This article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3696033]

Charge order suppression, emergence of ferromagnetism and absence of exchange bias effect in Bi0.25Ca0.75MnO3 nanoparticles: Electron paramagnetic resonance and magnetization studies

We report the results of magnetization and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies on nanoparticles (average diameter similar to 30 nm) of Bi0.25Ca0.75MnO3 (BCMO) and compare them with the results on bulk BCMO. The nanoparticles were prepared using the nonaqueous sol-gel technique and characterized by XRD and TEM analysis. Magnetization measurements were carried out with a commercial physical property measurement system (PPMS). While the bulk BCMO exhibits a charge ordering transition at similar to 230 K and an antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition at similar to 130 K, in the nanoparticles, the CO phase is seen to have disappeared and a transition to a ferromagnetic (FM) state is observed at T-c similar to 120 K. However, interestingly, the exchange bias effect observed in other nanomanganite ferromagnets is absent in BCMO nanoparticles. EPR measurements were carried out in the X-band between 8 and 300 K. Lineshape fitting to a Lorentzian with two terms (accounting for both the clockwise and anticlockwise rotations of the microwave field) was employed to obtain the relevant EPR parameters as functions of temperature. The results confirm the occurrence of ferromagnetism in the nanoparticles of BCMO. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4730612]

Assessing severe Drought and wet events over India in a future climate using a nested bias-correction approach

General circulation models (GCMs) are routinely used to simulate future climatic conditions. However, rainfall outputs from GCMs are highly uncertain in preserving temporal correlations, frequencies, and intensity distributions, which limits their direct application for downscaling and hydrological modeling studies. To address these limitations, raw outputs of GCMs or regional climate models are often bias corrected using past observations. In this paper, a methodology is presented for using a nested bias-correction approach to predict the frequencies and occurrences of severe droughts and wet conditions across India for a 48-year period (2050-2099) centered at 2075. Specifically, monthly time series of rainfall from 17 GCMs are used to draw conclusions for extreme events. An increasing trend in the frequencies of droughts and wet events is observed. The northern part of India and coastal regions show maximum increase in the frequency of wet events. Drought events are expected to increase in the west central, peninsular, and central northeast regions of India. (C) 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.