Polyaniline as a Gas-Sensor Material

Polyaniline (PANI) was synthesized by oxidative polymerization of aniline using ammonium persulfate in an acid medium. The polyaniline salt was converted to base form by treatment with ammonium hydroxide. The polyaniline base was dissolved in N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) for film casting. The cast film was doped with HCl for obtaining higher conductivity. Both doped and undoped PANI films were characterized by UV-visible, FTIR, and XRD analyses. The electrical conductivity of the PANI film was studied by a four-point probe method at room temperature. Finally, ammonia gas-sensing characteristics of the prepared polyaniline film were studied by measuring the change in electrical conductivity on exposure to ammonia gas at different concentrations. The influence of concentration of acid during polymerization of aniline and dopant concentration on the gas sensing characteristics of PANI film are reported in this paper.     

Note: Compact high voltage pulse transformer made using a capacitor bank assembled in the shape of primary

The experimental results of an air-core pulse transformer are presented, which is very compact (<10 Kg in weight) and is primed by a capacitor bank that is fabricated in such a way that the capacitor bank with its switch takes the shape of single-turn rectangular shaped primary of the transformer. A high voltage capacitor assembly (pulse-forming-line capacitor, PFL) of 5.1 nF is connected with the secondary of transformer. The transformer output voltage is 160 kV in its second peak appearing in less than 2 μS from the beginning of the capacitor discharge. The primary capacitor bank can be charged up to a maximum of 18 kV, with the voltage delivery of 360 kV in similar capacitive loads.     

A junctionless tunnel field effect transistor with low subthreshold slope

we demonstrate the design of a triple gate n-channel junctionless transistor that we call a junctionless tunnel field effect transistor (JLTFET). The JLTFET is a heavily doped junctionless transistor which uses the concept of tunneling, by narrowing the barrier between source and channel of the device, to turn the device ON and OFF. Simulation shows significant improvement compared to simple junctionless field effect transistor both in I _ON/I _OFF ratio and subthreshold slope. Here, junctionless tunnel field effect transistors with high-k dielectric and low-k spacers are demonstrated through simulation and shows an ON-current of 0.25 mA/μm for the gate voltage of 2 V and an OFF current of 3 pA/μm (neglecting gate leakage). In addition, our device shows optimized performance with high I _ON/I _OFF (～10⁹). Moreover, a subthreshold slope of 47 mV/decade is obtained for a 50 nm gate length of simulated JLTFET at room temperature which indicates that JLTFET is a promising candidate for switching performance.     

Thermooptic two-mode interference device for reconfigurable quantum optic circuits

Reconfigurable large-scale integrated quantum optic circuits require compact component having capability of accurate manipulation of quantum entanglement for quantum communication and information processing applications. Here, a thermooptic two-mode interference coupler has been introduced as a compact component for generation of reconfigurable complex multi-photons quantum interference. Both theoretical and experimental approaches are used for the demonstration of two-photon and four-photon quantum entanglement manipulated with thermooptic phase change in TMI region. Our results demonstrate complex multi-photon quantum interference with high fabrication tolerance and quantum fidelity in smaller dimension than previous thermooptic Mach–Zehnder implementations.     

Self-phase Modulation in Quadratically Nonlinear Media

Abstract

We discuss self-phase modulations and related transverse effects accompanying interaction of a light beam with a second harmonic radiation generated by it. Some experimental observations are explained by a simple perturbative approach. Numerical simulations provide a further insight into the nature of transverse self-effects in quadratically nonlinear media. An effective x ⁽³⁾-like behaviour of dispersive quadratically nonlinear media is discussed. Such feature may lead to important consequences for measurements of the x ⁽³⁾ tensor in complex nonlinear media.     

Probing the influence of superhydrophobicity and mixed wettability on droplet displacement behavior

The importance of fundamental understanding of droplet dynamics and the concomitant implications of wall wettability are critical in the emergent science and technology areas including digital microfluidics and clean energy conversion. In this work, mesoscopic illustration, based on the two-phase lattice Boltzmann model, of droplet dynamics in a microchannel is presented in order to unveil the role of superhydrophobicity and mixed wettability. The impact of critical physicochemical determinants, including capillary number and droplet size, is explored in the context of droplet–wettability interactions. Temporal evolution of wetted length and wetted area for a combination of wettability scenarios is furnished in detail in order to elucidate the droplet displacement dynamics. Capillary number plays an important role with disparate droplet behavioral patterns stemming from superhydrophobic and mixed-wet wall characteristics.     

Exercise classification and event segmentation in Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination videos

Image and video processing techniques are being frequently used in medical science applications. Computer vision-based systems have successfully replaced various manual medical processes such as analyzing physical and biomechanical parameters, physical examination of patients. These systems are gaining popularity because of their robustness and the objectivity they bring to various medical procedures. Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examinations (HINE) is a set of physical tests that are carried out on infants in the age group of 3–24 months with neurological disorders. However, these tests are graded through visual observations, which can be highly subjective. Therefore, computer vision-aided approach can be used to assist the experts in the grading process. In this paper, we present a method of automatic exercise classification through visual analysis of the HINE videos recorded at hospitals. We have used scale-invariant-feature-transform features to generate a bag-of-words from the image frames of the video sequences. Frequency of these visual words is then used to classify the video sequences using HMM. We also present a method of event segmentation in long videos containing more than two exercises. Event segmentation coupled with a classifier can help in automatic indexing of long and continuous video sequences of the HINE set. Our proposed framework is a step forward in the process of automation of HINE tests through computer vision-based methods. We conducted tests on a dataset comprising of 70 HINE video sequences. It has been found that the proposed method can successfully classify exercises with accuracy as high as 84%. The proposed work has direct applications in automatic or semiautomatic analysis of “vertical suspension” and “ventral suspension” tests of HINE. Though some of the critical tests such as “pulled-to-sit,” “lateral tilting,” or “adductor’s angle measurement” have already been addressed using image- and video-guided techniques, scopes are there for further improvement.     

Tokens vs. Signals: On Conformance between Formal Models of Dataflow and Hardware

Designing hardware often involves several types of modeling and analysis, e.g., in order to check system correctness, to derive performance properties such as throughput, to optimize resource usages (e.g., buffer sizes), and to synthesize parts of a circuit (e.g., control logic). Working directly with low-level hardware models such as finite-state machines (FSMs) to answer such questions is often infeasible, e.g., due to state explosion. Instead, designers often use dataflow models such as SDF and CSDF, which are more abstract than FSMs, and less expensive to use since they come with more efficient analysis algorithms. However, dataflow models are only abstractions of the real hardware, and often omit critical information. This raises the question, when can one say that a certain dataflow model faithfully captures a given piece of hardware? The question is of more than simply academic interest. Indeed, as illustrated in this paper, dataflow-based analysis outcomes may sometimes be defensive (e.g., buffers that are too big) or even incorrect (e.g., buffers that are too small). To answer the question of faithfully capturing hardware using dataflow models, we develop a formal conformance relation between the heterogeneous formalisms of (1) finite-state machines with synchronous semantics, typically used to model synchronous hardware, and (2) asynchronous processes communicating via queues, used as a formal model for dataflow. The conformance relation preserves performance properties such as worst-case throughput and latency.     

Formulation and validation of a mathematical model for a naturally ventilated greenhouse with shading nets in warm and humid climate of India

A thermal model is developed to investigate the suitability of a simple, inexpensive and naturally ventilated greenhouse with shading nets in warm and humid climatic condition for off-season cultivation of vegetables like okra, cucumber, etc. during winter. These vegetables are generally grown during summer and the rainy season. The study was conducted from November 2011 to February 2012 in OUAT, Bhubaneswar, and Odisha where warm and humid climate usually prevails. Air temperatures inside the greenhouse with shading net were only 1–2°C higher during peak sunny hours and considerably 3–5°C more during night hours compared with ambient air temperatures. Lowering of air temperature during peak sunny hours and increasing during the night due to use of shading nets would become favourable for growing off-season vegetables in naturally ventilated greenhouse. Predicted values of air and plant temperatures were found to be in close agreement with experimental values.