Study on the detection efficiency of gaseous photomultipliers

Efficient photon detection in gaseous photomultipliers require maximum photoelectron yield from the photocathode surface and also detection of them. In this work we have investigated the parameters that affect the photoelectron yield from the photocathode surface and methods to improve them thus ensuring high detection efficiency of the gaseous photomultiplier. The parameters studied are the electric field at the photocathode surface, surface properties of photocathode and pressure of gas mixture inside the gaseous photomultiplier. It was observed that optimized electric field at the photocathode ensures high detection efficiency. Lower pressure of filled gas increases the photoelectron yield from the photocathode surface but reduces the focusing probability of electrons inside the electron multiplier. Also evacuation for longer duration before gas filling increases the photoelectron yield.

Enhanced photoabsorption efficiency of incomplete nanoshells

The rather low scattering or extinction efficiency of small nanoparticles, metallic and otherwise, is significantly enhanced when they are adsorbed on a larger core particle. But the photoabsorption by particles with varying surface area fractions on a larger core particle is found to be limited by saturation. It is found that the core-shell particle can have a lower absorption efficiency than a dielectric core with its surface partially nucleated with absorbing particles-an ``incomplete nanoshell'' particle. We have both numerically and experimentally studied the optical efficiencies of titania (TiO2) nucleated in various degrees on silica (SiO2) nanospheres. We show that optimal surface nucleation over cores of appropriate sizes and optical properties will have a direct impact on the applications exploiting the absorption and scattering properties of such composite particles.

The effect of cell size and channel density on neuronal information encoding and energy efficiency

Identifying the determinants of neuronal energy consumption and their relationship to information coding is critical to understanding neuronal function and evolution. Three of the main determinants are cell size, ion channel density, and stimulus statistics. Here we investigate their impact on neuronal energy consumption and information coding by comparing single-compartment spiking neuron models of different sizes with different densities of stochastic voltage-gated Na+ and K+ channels and different statistics of synaptic inputs. The largest compartments have the highest information rates but the lowest energy efficiency for a given voltage-gated ion channel density, and the highest signaling efficiency (bits spike(-1)) for a given firing rate. For a given cell size, our models revealed that the ion channel density that maximizes energy efficiency is lower than that maximizing information rate. Low rates of small synaptic inputs improve energy efficiency but the highest information rates occur with higher rates and larger inputs. These relationships produce a Law of Diminishing Returns that penalizes costly excess information coding capacity, promoting the reduction of cell size, channel density, and input stimuli to the minimum possible, suggesting that the trade-off between energy and information has influenced all aspects of neuronal anatomy and physiology.

A unified view of energetic efficiency in active drag reduction, thrust generation and self-propulsion through a loss coefficient with some applications

An analysis of the energy budget for the general case of a body translating in a stationary fluid under the action of an external force is used to define a power loss coefficient. This universal definition of power loss coefficient gives a measure of the energy lost in the wake of the translating body and, in general, is applicable to a variety of flow configurations including active drag reduction, self-propulsion and thrust generation. The utility of the power loss coefficient is demonstrated on a model bluff body flow problem concerning a two-dimensional elliptical cylinder in a uniform cross-flow. The upper and lower boundaries of the elliptic cylinder undergo continuous motion due to a prescribed reflectionally symmetric constant tangential surface velocity. It is shown that a decrease in drag resulting from an increase in the strength of tangential surface velocity leads to an initial reduction and eventual rise in the power loss coefficient. A maximum in energetic efficiency is attained for a drag reducing tangential surface velocity which minimizes the power loss coefficient. The effect of the tangential surface velocity on drag reduction and self-propulsion of both bluff and streamlined bodies is explored through a variation in the thickness ratio (ratio of the minor and major axes) of the elliptical cylinders.

Thermal Efficiency of LPG and PNG-fired burners: Experimental and numerical studies

In the present work, the thermal efficiency of a conventional domestic burner is studied both experimentally and numerically for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and piped natural gas (PNG) fuels. Three-dimensional computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling of the steady-state flow, combustion and heat transfer to the vessel is reported for the first time in such burners. Based on the insights from the CFD model concerning the flow and heat transfer, design modifications in the form of a circular insert and a radiant sheet are proposed which are observed to increase thermal efficiency for LPG. For PNG, predictions showed that loading height was a much more important factor affecting efficiency than these design modifications and an optimal loading height could be identified. Experiments confirm these trends by showing an improvement in burner thermal efficiency of 2.5% for LPG with the modified design, and 10% for PNG with the optimal loading height, demonstrating that the CFD modeling approach developed in the present work is a useful tool to study domestic burners. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adiabatic Eigenfunction Based Approach to Coherent Transfer: Application to the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) Complex and the Role of Correlations in the Efficiency of Energy Transfer

We have recently suggested a method (Pallavi Bhattacharyya and K. L. Sebastian, Physical Review E 2013, 87, 062712) for the analysis of coherence in finite-level systems that are coupled to the surroundings and used it to study the process of energy transfer in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson (FMO) complex. The method makes use of adiabatic eigenstates of the Hamiltonian, with a subsequent transformation of the Hamiltonian into a form where the terms responsible for decoherence and population relaxation could be separated out at the lowest order. Thus one can account for decoherence nonperturbatively, and a Markovian type of master equation could be used for evaluating the population relaxation. In this paper, we apply this method to a two-level system as well as to a seven-level system. Comparisons with exact numerical results show that the method works quite well and is in good agreement with numerical calculations. The technique can be applied with ease to systems with larger numbers of levels as well. We also investigate how the presence of correlations among the bath degrees of freedom of the different bacteriochlorophyll a molecules of the FMO Complex affect the rate of energy transfer. Surprisingly, in the cases that we studied, our calculations suggest that the presence of anticorrelations, in contrast to correlations, make the excitation transfer more facile.

Balanced Excitatory and Inhibitory Synaptic Currents Promote Efficient Coding and Metabolic Efficiency

A balance between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic currents is thought to be important for several aspects of information processing in cortical neurons in vivo, including gain control, bandwidth and receptive field structure. These factors will affect the firing rate of cortical neurons and their reliability, with consequences for their information coding and energy consumption. Yet how balanced synaptic currents contribute to the coding efficiency and energy efficiency of cortical neurons remains unclear. We used single compartment computational models with stochastic voltage-gated ion channels to determine whether synaptic regimes that produce balanced excitatory and inhibitory currents have specific advantages over other input regimes. Specifically, we compared models with only excitatory synaptic inputs to those with equal excitatory and inhibitory conductances, and stronger inhibitory than excitatory conductances (i.e. approximately balanced synaptic currents). Using these models, we show that balanced synaptic currents evoke fewer spikes per second than excitatory inputs alone or equal excitatory and inhibitory conductances. However, spikes evoked by balanced synaptic inputs are more informative (bits/spike), so that spike trains evoked by all three regimes have similar information rates (bits/s). Consequently, because spikes dominate the energy consumption of our computational models, approximately balanced synaptic currents are also more energy efficient than other synaptic regimes. Thus, by producing fewer, more informative spikes approximately balanced synaptic currents in cortical neurons can promote both coding efficiency and energy efficiency.

Efficiency limitations in a low band-gap diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymer solar cell

We report the performance and photophysics of a low band-gap diketopyrrolopyrrole-based copolymer used in bulk heterojunction devices in combination with PC71BM. We show that the short lifetime of photogenerated excitons in the polymer constitutes an obstacle towards device efficiency by limiting the diffusion range of the exciton to the donor-acceptor heterojunction. We employ ultrafast transient-probe and fluorescence spectroscopy techniques to examine the excited state loss channels inside the devices. We use the high boiling point solvent additive 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) to study the photoexcited state losses in different blend morphologies. The solvent additive acts as a compatibiliser between the donor and the acceptor material and leads to smaller domain sizes, higher charge formation yields and increased device efficiency.

Strategies for high efficiency and stability in biogas-fuelled small engines

This work assesses the performance of small biogas-fuelled engines and explores high-efficiency strategies for power generation in the very low power range of less than 1000 W. Experiments were performed on a small 95-cc, single-cylinder, four-stroke spark-ignition engine operating on biogas. The engine was operated in two modes, i.e., `premixed' and `fuel injection' modes, using both single and dual spark plug configurations. Measurements of in-cylinder pressure, crank angle, brake power, air and fuel flow rates, and exhaust emissions were conducted. Cycle-to-cycle variations in engine in-cylinder pressure and power were also studied and assessed quantitatively for various loading conditions. Results suggest that biogas combustion can be fairly sensitive to the ignition strategies thereby affecting the power output and efficiency. Further, results indicate that continuous fuel injection shows superior performance compared to the premixed case especially at low loads owing to possible charge stratification in the engine cylinder. Overall, this study has demonstrated for the first time that a combination of technologies such as lean burn, fuel injection, and dual spark plug ignition can provide highly efficient and stable operation in a biogas-fuelled small S.I. engine, especially in the low power range of 450-1000W. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Asymptotic expansions for wavenumbers in orthotropic fluid-filled circular cylindrical shells for intermediate fluid loading

Coupled wavenumbers in infinite fluid-filled isotropic and orthotropic cylindrical shells are considered. Using the Donnell-Mushtari (DM) theory for thin shells, compact and elegant asymptotic expansions for the wavenumbers are found at an intermediate fluid loading for both the coupled rigid-duct modes (''fluid-originated'') and the coupled structural wavenumbers (''structure-originated modes'') over the entire frequency range where DM theory is valid. The coupled rigid-duct expansions are found to be valid for O(1) orthotropy and for all circumferential orders, whereas the coupled structural wavenumber expansions are valid for small orthotropy and for low circumferential orders. These two above results are then used to derive the expansions for a set of multiple complex roots that display a locking behavior at this intermediate fluid-loading. The expansions are matched with the numerical solutions of the coupled dispersion relation and the match is found to be good over most of the frequency range. (C) 2014 Acoustical Society of America.

Consequences of Converting Graded to Action Potentials upon Neural Information Coding and Energy Efficiency

Information is encoded in neural circuits using both graded and action potentials, converting between them within single neurons and successive processing layers. This conversion is accompanied by information loss and a drop in energy efficiency. We investigate the biophysical causes of this loss of information and efficiency by comparing spiking neuron models, containing stochastic voltage-gated Na+ and K+ channels, with generator potential and graded potential models lacking voltage-gated Na+ channels. We identify three causes of information loss in the generator potential that are the by-product of action potential generation: (1) the voltage-gated Na+ channels necessary for action potential generation increase intrinsic noise and (2) introduce non-linearities, and (3) the finite duration of the action potential creates a `footprint' in the generator potential that obscures incoming signals. These three processes reduce information rates by similar to 50% in generator potentials, to similar to 3 times that of spike trains. Both generator potentials and graded potentials consume almost an order of magnitude less energy per second than spike trains. Because of the lower information rates of generator potentials they are substantially less energy efficient than graded potentials. However, both are an order of magnitude more efficient than spike trains due to the higher energy costs and low information content of spikes, emphasizing that there is a two-fold cost of converting analogue to digital; information loss and cost inflation.

Local Structural and Environmental Factors Define the Efficiency of an RNA Pseudoknot Involved in Programmed Ribosomal Frameshift Process

In programmed -1 ribosomal frameshift, an RNA pseudoknot stalls the ribosome at specific sequence and restarts translation in a new reading frame. A precise understanding of structural characteristics of these pseudoknots and their PRF inducing ability has not been clear to date. To investigate this phenomenon, we have studied various structural aspects of a -1 PRF inducing RNA pseudoknot from BWYV using extensive molecular dynamics simulations. A set of functional and poorly functional forms, for which previous mutational data were available, were chosen for analysis. These structures differ from each other by either single base substitutions or base-pair replacements from the native structure. We have rationalized how certain mutations in RNA pseudoknot affect its function; e.g., a specific base substitution in loop 2 stabilizes the junction geometry by forming multiple noncanonical hydrogen bonds, leading to a highly rigid structure that could effectively resist ribosome-induced unfolding, thereby increasing efficiency. While, a CG to AU pair substitution in stem 1 leads to loss of noncanonical hydrogen bonds between stems and loop, resulting in a less stable structure and reduced PRF inducing ability, inversion of a pair in stem 2 alters specific base-pair geometry that might be required in ribosomal recognition of nucleobase groups, negatively affecting pseudoknot functioning. These observations illustrate that the ability of an RNA pseudoknot to induce -1 PRF with an optimal rate depends on several independent factors that contribute to either the local conformational variability or geometry

Enhancing the photocatalytic efficiency of sprayed ZnO thin films through double doping (Sn plus F) and annealing under different ambiences

Doubly (Sn + F) doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Sn:F) thin films were deposited onto glass substrates using a simplified spray pyrolysis technique. The deposited films were annealed at 400 degrees C under two different ambiences (air and vacuum) for 2 h. The photocatalytic activity of these films was assessed through photocatalytic decolorization kinetics of Methylene Blue (MB) dye and the decolorization efficiency of the annealed films was compared with that of their as-deposited counterpart. The photocatalytic studies reveal that the ZnO:Sn:F films annealed under vacuum environment exhibits better photocatalytic efficiency when compared with both air annealed and as-deposited films. The SEM and TEM images depict that the surface of each of the films has an overlayer comprising of nanobars formed on a bottom layer, having spherical grains. The studies show that the diameter of the nanobars plays crucial role in enhancing the photocatalytic activity of the ZnO:Sn:F films. The structural, optical and electrical studies substantiate the discussions on the photocatalytic ability of the deposited films. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.