Experimental realization of quantum cheque using a five-qubit quantum computer

Quantum cheques could be a forgery-free way to make transaction in a quantum networked banking system with perfect security against any no-signalling adversary. Here, we demonstrate the implementation of quantum cheque, proposed by Moulick and Panigrahi (Quantum Inf Process 15:2475–2486, 2016), using the five-qubit IBM quantum computer. Appropriate single qubit, CNOT and Fredkin gates are used in an optimized configuration. The accuracy of implementation is checked and verified through quantum state tomography by comparing results from the theoretical and experimental density matrices.     

Analysis of temporal jitter in a copper vapor laser system

Temporal jitter in a magnetic pulse compression based copper vapor laser (CVL) system is analyzed by considering ripple present in the input dc power supply and ripple present in the magnetic core resetting power supply. It is shown that the jitter is a function of the ratio of operating voltage to the designed voltage, percentage ripple, and the total propagation delay of the magnetic pulse compression circuit. Experimental results from a CVL system operating at a repetition rate of 9 kHz are presented.     

Electron microscopic observations on the alterations of tegumental surface of Raillietina echinobothrida treated with root-peel extract of Potentilla fulgens

Potentilla fulgens, a member of the family Rosaceae, has been known since ancient times in Northeast India for its antiparasitic, antitumour and antidiabetic properties. The crude ethanolic extract of the plant was assayed against Raillietina echinobothrida, the intestinal cestode parasite of domestic fowl to authenticate the putative anthelmintic efficacy and cestocidal potential in particular of the plant. Treatment of the worm in-vitro with 25, 50 and 100 mg of crude extract per ml of phosphate buffered saline caused paralysis leading to death taking 4.02-4.20, 3.05-3.75 and 2.05-2.83 h respectively. Scanning electron microscopic observations on treated worms revealed deformation of surface architecture, particularly in scolex and surface microtriches. Severe distortion and disorganization of the tegumental and subtegumental layer along with cytoplasmic organelle was also observed under transmission electron microscope. The possible use of the plant as a potential anthelmintic against cestode parasite is discussed.     

Surface integrity study of WEDM with various wire electrodes: experiments and analysis

Abstract

Wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) is always significant for its high-precision machining. However, due to the generation of high discharge energy during machining, machined surfaces are often got distorted. These might be upgraded by choosing the correct tool with proper machining condition. The effects of the electrode materials and process parameters on different responses of WEDM like average surface roughness, recast layer thickness, and surface morphology are systematically examined here to enhance the knowledge of WEDM and its correlation with electrode property. The experiments have been carried out on one of the expensive steel namely Maraging steel 300 due to its applicability in tooling and aerospace industries. Plain brass wire, zinc-coated brass wire (ZCB), and silver-coated brass (SCB) wires are used as a tool electrode for analysis. Comparative experimental studies prove that among BW, ZCB, and SCB, the overall performance of SCB is commendable owing to the high-quality surface considering control parameters in low discharge energy level. However, the second-best performance is shown by ZCB.     

Energy reduction schemes for multiple effect evaporator systems

In the present work different energy reduction schemes (ERSs), used to reduce the consumption of steam for a multiple effect evaporator (MEE) system, are developed. These ERSs are condensate-, feed- and product-flashing and vapor bleeding. Further, a new scheme is proposed where condensate of vapor chest of an effect is used to preheat the liquor, which is entering into that effect using a counter current heat exchanger. This work also presents a comparative study between existing ERSs and selects the best ERS amongst these based on steam consumption as well as number of units involved. Further, in the present paper a simple graphical approach named “modified temperature path (MTP)” is developed for the analysis of different feed flow sequences of a MEE system to screen best possible feed flow sequence. To study the effect of different ERSs on steam consumption and MTP analysis an example of septuple effect flat falling film evaporator (SEFFFE) system, employed for concentrating weak black liquor in an Indian Kraft Paper Mill, is considered. The results show that ERSs reduce the steam consumption up to 24.6%.     

UbiqStack: a taxonomy for a ubiquitous computing software stack

This paper describes a taxonomy for a ubiquitous computing software stack called UbiqStack. Through the lens of the UbiqStack taxonomy we survey a variety of subsystems designed to be the building blocks from which sophisticated infrastructures for ubiquitous computing are assembled. Our experience shows that many of these building blocks fit neatly into one of the five UbiqStack categories, each containing functionally-equivalent components. Effectively identifying the best-fit “Lego pieces”, which in turn determines the composite functionality of the resulting infrastructure, is critical. The selection process, however, is impeded by the lack of convention for labeling these classes of building blocks. The lack of clarity with respect to what ready-made subsystems are available within each class often results in naive re-implementation of ready-made components, monolithic and clumsy implementations, and implementations that impose non-standard interfaces onto the applications above. This paper describes the UbiqStack classes of subsystems and explores each in light of the experience gained over 2 years of active development of both ubiquitous computing applications and software infrastructures for their deployment.     

Natural convection heat transfer from upward-facing plates in saline water

Saltwater or brackish water is used as a coolant in most industries. Therefore, understanding the heat transfer processes and hydrodynamics during the natural convection in saline water is crucial for enhancing the efficiency of a heat exchanger. This study elaborates on the natural convection heat transfer in saline water under atmospheric conditions. A DC power supply is used to regulate the power given to the heater in a liquid pool for thermal analysis. The pool liquid comprises solutions with varying salinity from 0%, 0.2%, 0.5%, and 2%. The effect of varying salinity on the heat transfer coefficient and the thermal aspects encountered during the desalination process is analyzed. The temperature distribution across the surface of the heater is monitored using an infrared camera. It is studied for the solution of different salinities. The heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number are investigated during natural convection for normal water and salt solution of different concentrations. It is inferred from the study that in the regime of natural convection, there is no significant difference in the Nusselt number for normal water and saltwater for the lower value of temperature difference between the plate and pool. The heat transfer coefficient in 0.2% saline water is higher as compared to the other solutions.     

Biosorptive removal of cationic dye from aqueous system: a response surface methodological approach

In this study, response surface methodology (RSM) was employed for the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution using neem (Azadirachta indica) bark dust (NBD) as a bioadsorbent. The influence of various process parameters namely initial concentration (500–1,000 mg L^?1), bioadsorbent dose [0.20–1.50 g (100 mL)^?1], pH (5–12), and stirring rate (250–650 rpm) was taken as an input parameter. A total of 29 biosorption experimental runs were carried out employing the detailed conditions designed by RSM based on the Box–Behnken design (BBD). Response surface plots were studied to determine the interaction effects of main factors and optimum conditions of process. Regression analysis showed good fit of the experimental data to the second-order polynomial model with coefficient of determination (R ²) value of 0.9760 and model F value of 40.68. The predicted R ² value is 0.8979. In addition, results reported in this research demonstrated the feasibility of employing NBD as bioadsorbent for MB removal.     

Study of saw-tooth chip in machining of Inconel 718 by metallographic technique

The present research work aims to understand the chip formation mechanisms in Inconel 718 machining through metallographic technique. The influence of machining speed on shear band and chip shape have been analyzed. Characterization of the shear band has been conducted by analyzing the shear band thickness, strain, strain rate, stress and micro-hardness. Additionally, chip reduction coefficient parameters and chip segmentation ratio parameters have been analyzed to understand the type of chip formation at various machining speeds. The observations and analysis of the same indicated that the formation of the saw-tooth chip is due to high-strain localization within the chip and crack initiation at the free surface of the chip. Thinner shear bands are observed at higher machining speed (120 m/min), and thicker shear bands are observed at lower machining speed (40 m/min). The magnitude of chip segmentation parameters indicates that crack generation increases with increase in machining speed.     

A novel region-based multimodal image fusion technique using improved dictionary learning

Recently, the sparse representation (SR) based algorithms have gained much attention from the researchers in the area of image fusion (IF). The building of a compact discriminative dictionary plays a vital role in the sparse-based IF techniques. In this context, an efficient multimodal IF method based on improved dictionary learning is investigated. The key contributions of this paper are: (a) An improved KSVD algorithm is suggested for the dictionary learning process, (b) to reduce the computational time, only the informative patches are selected using energy feature, and (c) a novel region-based fusion scheme is suggested for the first time for the problem on hand. The suggested technique is tested with a number of multimodal images from Harvard Medical School brain database. The results are compared with state-of-the-art multiscale transform-based methods and modified SR-based methods. Unlike earlier methods, our proposed technique generates an adaptive dictionary through selection of informative patches only. This results in a compact dictionary with improved computational efficiency. The experimental results reveal that our approach outperforms other methods. The potential application of the suggested method could be in pathological images for follow-up study and better treatment planning.