Punctuated equilibrium and power law in economic dynamics

This work is primarily based on a recently proposed toy model by Thurner et al. (2010) [3] on Schumpeterian economic dynamics (inspired by the idea of economist Joseph Schumpeter [9]). Interestingly, punctuated equilibrium has been shown to emerge from the dynamics. The punctuated equilibrium and Power law are known to be associated with similar kinds of biologically relevant evolutionary models proposed in the past. The occurrence of the Power law is a signature of Self-Organised Criticality (SOC). In our view, power laws can be obtained by controlling the dynamics through incorporating the idea of feedback into the algorithm in some way. The so-called ‘feedback’ was achieved by introducing the idea of fitness and selection processes in the biological evolutionary models. Therefore, we examine the possible emergence of a power law by invoking the concepts of ‘fitness’ and ‘selection’ in the present model of economic evolution.     

Morphology dependent luminescence properties of rare-earth doped lanthanum fluoride hierarchical microstructures

Here, we demonstrate an ionic liquid-assisted hydrothermal method for preparing Tb³⁺ and Eu³⁺ doped LaF₃ hierarchical microstructures and the morphology is modified by hydrothermal reaction time, temperature of heating and ionic liquid concentration. The mechanism related to morphology control is proposed and discussed. It is also found that PL intensity, decay time and quantum efficiency are sensitive to the morphology. The average decay times are 2.9 ms and 4.8 ms for Eu³⁺ doped LaF₃ microstructures prepared at 10 min and 3 h reaction time, respectively. The average decay time is increased from 4.8 ms to 5.8 ms after heating the sample at 500 °C. The quantum efficiency varies from 34% to 67% with changing morphology. Analysis suggests that morphology plays an important role on efficiency of rare-earth doped materials.     

Three-dimensional mid-infrared photonic circuits in chalcogenide glass

We report the fabrication of single-mode buried channel waveguides for the whole mid-IR transparency range of chalcogenide sulphide glasses (λ ≤ 11 μm), by means of direct laser writing. We have explored the potential of this technology by fabricating a prototype three-dimensional three-beam combiner for future application in stellar interferometry that delivers a monochromatic interference visibility of 99.89% at 10.6 μm and an ultrahigh bandwidth (3-11 μm) interference visibility of 21.3%. These results demonstrate that it is possible to harness the whole transparency range offered by chalcogenide glasses on a single on-chip instrument by means of direct laser writing, a finding that may be of key significance in future technologies such as astrophotonics and biochemical sensing.     

Compact, highly efficient ytterbium doped bismuthate glass waveguide laser

Laser slope efficiencies close to the quantum defect limit and in excess of 78% have been obtained from an ultrafast laser inscribed buried channel waveguide fabricated in a ytterbium-doped bismuthate glass. The simultaneous achievement of low propagation losses and preservation of the fluorescence properties of ytterbium ions is the basis of the outstanding laser performance.     

Optical imaging of the growth kinetics and polar morphology of zinc tris(thiourea) sulphate single crystals

Growth kinetics of zinc tris(thiourea) sulphate (ZTS) single crystals was imaged in two different growth geometries using laser shadowgraphy technique. Growth rates of the {010} and {001} faces were computed as a function of supersaturation. The time evolution of polar morphology of ZTS crystal based on the growth rates is presented. Except (00 ) face, all the other three faces are found to have a dead zone resulting in large induction period of growth. The anisotropy in the growth rates of the (001) and (00 ) faces was very high, resulting in polar morphology. Different chemical environments on two sides of the (001) slice are suggested as the possible cause for the polar morphology of the crystals. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Application of a Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network for the Prediction and Optimization of the Andrographolide Content in Andrographis paniculata

Andrographolide, the principal secondary metabolite of Andrographis paniculata, displays a wide spectrum of medicinal activities. The content of andrographolide varies significantly in the species collected from different geographical regions. Therefore, this study aims at investigating the role of different abiotic factors and selecting suitable sites for the cultivation of A. paniculata with high andrographolide content using a multilayer perceptron artificial neural network (MLP-ANN) approach. A total of 150 accessions of A. paniculata collected from different regions of Odisha and West Bengal in eastern India showed a variation in andrographolide content in the range of 0.28–5.45% on a dry weight basis. The MLP-ANN was trained using climatic factors and soil nutrients as the input layer and the andrographolide content as the output layer. The best topological ANN architecture, consisting of 14 input neurons, 12 hidden neurons, and 1 output neuron, could predict the andrographolide content with 90% accuracy. The developed ANN model showed good predictive performance with a correlation coefficient (R²) of 0.9716 and a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.18. The global sensitivity analysis revealed nitrogen followed by phosphorus and potassium as the predominant input variables influencing the andrographolide content. The andrographolide content could be increased from 3.38% to 4.90% by optimizing these sensitive factors. The result showed that the ANN approach is reliable for the prediction of suitable sites for the optimum andrographolide yield in A. paniculata.     

Tunnelling Dynamics of Kicked Systems: A Route to Tunnelling Control

The effects of discontinuously time-varying perturbations on the dynamics of a particle moving in harmonic, symmetric double well and symmetric triple well potentials, are investigated both classically and quantum mechanically. The quantum dynamics is followed using the time-dependent Fourier grid Hamiltonian (TDFGH) method while the classical dynamics is analyzed within the framework of classical Hamiltonian mechanics. Depending on the spatial symmetry of the perturbation and the characteristic features of the reversal time , different types of ‘phase space’ structures are observed in each of the potentials. For symmetric double and triple well potentials, quantum dynamics reveals that complete destruction of tunnelling (CDT) can be achieved in the presence of a time-dependent spatially asymmetric perturbing field that is continuous in time. Any discontinuity in time-variation of the perturbation may induce over the barrier transition. The relevance of these results in the context of (i) tunnelling control and (ii) quantum computing with 3-state or 2-state quantum registers is briefly discussed.     

Vanadium(IV)-oxo Corrole Catalyzed Selective Oxidative Cleavage of Alkenes to Aldehydes

A practical and efficient protocol for oxidative cleavage of olefinic bonds especially in arylated olefins has been demonstrated. Herein, an oxo[5,10,15-tris(4-nitrophenyl)corrolato]vanadium (IV) complex (cat.), has been successfully synthesized and the existence of two tautomeric forms of this complex in solution has been established. Oxo[5,10,15-tris(4-nitrophenyl)corrolato]vanadium (IV) (cat.) in the presence of H₂O₂ cleaves olefinic bonds to yield the corresponding aldehyde compounds. In general, a high valent, oxo-(porphyrinoid)-metal complex catalyzes the epoxide formation reactions, however, in the present case, we have observed the exclusive formation of aldehydes. The reaction offered aryl aldehydes with good yields and excellent selectivity. A mechanism was also proposed for these catalysis reactions.     

NIR-II fluorescent nanophosphors for bio-imaging

The design of nanoprobes in the second window near-infrared region has grasped a substantial amount of attention due to the flexible emission in the second near-infrared region (NIR-II) region (1,000–1,700 nm). In addition, this region provides the advantage of reduced photon scattering with less autofluorescence for improvement during in vivo fluorescence imaging. NIR-II nanoprobes such as quantum dots, AIEgens, carbon nanotubes, and polymers are in a constant state of evolution for improved NIR-II emission. Among these probes, lanthanides are explored the most for NIR-II imaging applications. Moreover, nanophosphors, although in their nascent form, are interesting compounds due to their good luminescence properties with efficient energy transfer processes. Our review aims to give insight into nanophosphors, mainly for biological imaging applications. We will also provide a comparative study of lanthanides and nanophosphors for understanding the mechanism and importance of nanophosphors in the future bio-imaging field.