Showing papers by "Heritage Institute of Technology published in 2017"

Development of Spectrophotometric Method for the Analysis of Multi-component Carbohydrate Mixture of Different Moieties.

Abstract: Present study is a critical analysis and subsequent development of an analytical tool to measure the total sugar concentration in a carbohydrate mixture comprising both hexose and pentose For this purpose, individual sugars were measured and standardized with anthrone reagent prepared in an ice-cold 98 % sulphuric acid followed by 3 min of boiling Furthermore, regression analysis was performed after mathematical manipulation with the individual standards to formulate a linear relation between the absorbance of the mixture and its concentration, which satisfies Beer’s law It was found that the correlation coefficient for the equation is 0973, when confidence interval was set at 095 The validation was done with a synthetic mixture of concentrations at 017 and 022 g/L (as range was ensured between 01 and 03 g/L) and also with the carbohydrate mixture as the prehydrolyzate obtained after the pretreatment of banana stem, which showed around 941 % accuracy and higher sensitivity with the cellulose present in the mixture Thus, the method is evident to quantify the total sugars accurately obtained from hydrolyzed lignocellulosic biomass

DenvInt: A database of protein-protein interactions between dengue virus and its hosts.

Abstract: Dengue fever and associated dengue hemorrhagic fever are emerging globally as the most important arboviral disease for human population [1]. The dengue viruses (DENV) are members of the genus Flavivirus in the family Flaviviridae. Flaviviruses are arthropod-borne viruses, or arboviruses, which means they need an insect as a host to complete their life cycle. The full life cycle of dengue fever virus evolves the role of mosquito as a transmitter and human as the main victim and source of infection [2]. When a mosquito bites a person who has DENV in his or her blood, the mosquito becomes infected with the DENV. An infected mosquito can later transmit that virus to healthy people by biting them. This dengue disease is rapidly spreading in all regions of WHO in recent years. Recently, one dengue vaccine was licensed, Dengvaxia (CYD-TDV), developed by Sanofi Pasteur (http://www.who.int/immunization/research/development/dengue_q_and_a/en/). But it is only applicable for use in individuals 9–45 years of age, and the vaccine is currently not prequalified. Therefore, intensive efforts to develop a vaccine to protect against dengue are still ongoing. It is primarily transmitted by 1 mosquito species, Aedes aegypti. The virus is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes. After virus incubation for 4–10 days, an infected mosquito is able to transmit the virus for the rest of its life. In 1943, Ren Kimura and Susumu Hotta first quarantined the DENV [3]. These 2 scientists were studying blood samples of patients taken during the 1943 dengue epidemic in Nagasaki, Japan. One year later, Albert B. Sabin and Walter Schlesinger independently isolated the DENV [4]. The DENV genome is a single strand of RNA. It is referred to as positive-sense RNA because it can be directly translated into proteins. The viral genome encodes 10 proteins, as shown in Fig 1. Three are structural proteins, which are the capsid (C), the precursor of membrane protein (PrM/M), and the envelope protein (E), while the rest are nonstructural (NS) proteins:NS1, NS2A, NS2B, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, and NS5. These NS proteins play roles in viral replication and assembly. Because the dengue genome encodes only 10 viral proteins, the virus needs to hijack host proteins to help its replication. An understanding of how viruses interact with host cellular machineries to survive and replicate is important for the development of drugs. One way that viruses interact with their hosts is by protein–protein interactions (PPI). Therefore, indentifying PPI between DENV and host proteins will increase understanding of the function of virus proteins and how they reproduce and cause disease. Several studies have focused on dengue–

A sigma-lognormal model-based approach to generating large synthetic online handwriting sample databases

Abstract: This article describes a methodology to generate a large database of synthetic samples from a small set of original online handwriting specimens. The overall paradigm is based on the Kinematic Theory of rapid human movements and its sigma-lognormal model. The principal contributions of the present study include (i) development of a strategy for sigma-lognormal model-based generation of synthetic samples from real online handwriting samples of arbitrary scripts captured by arbitrary relevant devices and (ii) verification of the structural similarities, including the naturalness of such synthetic prototypes, through various human perception experiments, computer evaluations and statistical hypothesis testing. A database consisting of a large number of online synthetic handwritten word samples is used to train and evaluate the performance of three existing automatic online handwriting recognition systems. Training based on a combined set of original and synthetic samples improves the recognition accuracies on the test set. A combined training set is useful irrespective of the nature of the feature set used (online, offline or combined). Although the proposed method has primarily been developed and applied to the design of an online handwriting sample database of a popular Indian script, Bangla, it can be applied to the generation of large databases of any arbitrary script for example: English, Chinese and Arabic.

Expected Value of Exponential Fuzzy Number and Its Application to Multi-item Deterministic Inventory Model for Deteriorating Items

Abstract: Possibility, necessity, and credibility measures play a significant role to measure the chances of occurrence of fuzzy events. In this paper, possibility, necessity, and credibility measures of exponential fuzzy number, and its expected value has been derived. A multi-item two-warehouse deterministic inventory model for deteriorating items with stock-dependent demand has been developed. For the proposed inventory model, the different costs and other parameters are considered in exponential fuzzy nature. Solution methodology of this model using expected value has been discussed. A numerical example is considered to illustrate the multi-item two-warehouse deterministic inventory model. Finally, few sensitivity analyses are presented under different rates of deterioration to check the validity of the proposed model.

Optimization of Small-Signal Model of GaN HEMT by Using Evolutionary Algorithms

Abstract: In this letter, a new evolutionary algorithm-based method for the optimization of intrinsic elements of small-signal model (SSM) of GaN HEMT devices is presented. The method uses a unique search space exploration strategy for evolutionary algorithms to obtain an optimized compact SSM from the extracted parameter and measured S-parameters. The validity of the method is verified by comparing the measured S-parameter data of a $2 \times 0.1 \times 50 \,\,{\mu \text {m}}^{2}$ GaN/Si HEMT and a $4 \times 0.1 \times 75 \,\,{\mu \text {m}}^{2}$ GaN/SiC HEMT in the frequency range of 1 to 30 GHz. The modeled data and measured data are in good agreement.

A solid transportation model with product blending and parameters as rough variables

Abstract: In this paper, we formulate a practical solid transportation problem with product blending which is a common issue in many operational and planning models in the chemical, petroleum, gasoline and process industries. In the problem formulation, we consider that raw materials from different sources with different quality (or purity) levels are to be transported to some destinations so that the materials received at each destination can be blended together into the final product to meet minimum quality requirement of that destination. The parameters such as transportation costs, availabilities, demands are considered as rough variables in designing the model. We construct a rough chance-constrained programming (RCCP) model for the problem with rough parameters based on trust measure. This RCCP model is then transformed into deterministic form to solve the problem. Numerical example is presented to illustrate the problem model and solution strategy. The results are obtained using the standard optimization solver LINGO.

A three-layer supply chain inventory model for non-instantaneous deteriorating item with inflation and delay in payments in random fuzzy environment

Abstract: This article focuses on different types of three-layer supply chain models under inflation for non-instantaneous deteriorating item and the retailer has a pre-specified time to settle the account with the supplier. The total cost of each those integrated models under inflation is minimized to get the value of total cycle time and the credit period of the three-layer supply chain model. A numerical example is extracted to solve the proposed three-layer supply chain models using generalized reduced gradient technique. To test the feasibility of the proposed models, sensitivity analyses are explained under different rates of deterioration and inflation and then optimal results are illustrated numerically and graphically.

Uniformly dispersed nanocrystalline silver reduces the residual stress within diamond-like carbon hard coatings

Abstract: Composite films containing silver (Ag) nanoparticles embedded in amorphous diamond-like carbon (Ag–DLC) matrix have been deposited on glass and Si (100) substrates using r.f. capacitatively coupled plasma chemical vapour deposition (rf-CVD). Ag content in the DLC films varies with the relative amount of argon in the methane and argon gas mixture during the plasma growth. The film thickness ranges from 50 nm to 105 nm. The sp2/sp3 ratio in the DLC films decreases with the incorporation of nanocrystalline silver. A considerable amount, of about 99% residual stress reduction in Ag–DLC films has been demonstrated through theoretical calculation with the help of experimental optical absorption spectra. The results are verified by experimental nano-mechanical property evolution using nano-indentation. The related residual compressive stress reduction in the Ag–DLC composite films is attributed to the addition of uniformly dispersed nanocrystalline silver nanoparticles in the DLC matrix and the corresponding relative sp2/sp3 ratio variation.

Longterm storage of post-packaged bread by controlling spoilage pathogens using Lactobacillus fermentum C14 isolated from homemade curd.

Abstract: One potent lactic acid bacterial strain C14 with strong antifungal activity was isolated from homemade curd. Based on morphological as well as biochemical characters and 16S rDNA sequence homology the strain was identified as Lactobacillus fermentum. It displayed a wide antimicrobial spectrum against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria, and also against number of food spoilage, plant and human pathogenic fungi. The cell free supernatant (CFS) of the strain C14 was also effective against the fungi tested. Inhibition of radial growth of Penicillium digitatum, Trichophyton rubrum and Mucor sp. was noticed in the presence of CFS of C14 even at low concentration (1%). More than 94.3 ± 1.6% and 91.5 ± 2.2% inhibition of conidial germination of P. digitatum and Mucor sp. were noticed in the presence of 10-fold-concentrated CFS of C14. Massive deformation of the fungal mycelia was observed by SEM studies, and losses of cellular proteins and DNA are also evident upon its treatment with C14. HPLC analysis revealed the presence of phenyl lactic acid, lactic acid along with some unidentified compounds in the antifungal extract. Challenge experiment showed immense potential of the strain C14 in preventing the spoilage of bread samples caused by Mucor sp. and Bacillus subtilis. The bread samples remained fresh upto 25 days even after inoculation with Mucor sp. (3.7 × 104 spores /ml) and B. subtilis (4.6 × 104 CFU /ml). Along with the antifungal properties, the isolated lactic acid bacterial strain also showed very good antioxidant activities. Unchanged level of liver enzymes serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase and serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase in albino mice upon feeding with C14 also suggested non-toxic nature of the bacterial isolate.

Edge Element Controlled Null Steering in Beam-Steered Planar Array

Abstract: This letter investigates two different methods of null placement in uniformly excited beam-steered planar array. Both methods utilize control of excitation amplitude and phase of edge elements placed along the symmetrical axes of the array. The first method considers additional control in the presence of existing complex excitation, whereas the second method employes an additional control by redefining the excitation of edge elements. Effectiveness of the two methods has been illustrated through design examples of $22\,\times \,22$ and $41\,\times \,47$ planar arrays.

Design of end-on cyanato bridged trinuclear Cu(II) Schiff base complex with salen type Schiff base ligand: synthesis, structural investigation and DFT study

Abstract: One ONNO-donor tetradentate Schiff base ligand LH2 was derived from the condensation of salicylaldehyde and 1,3-diaminopropane and reacted with Cu(NO3)2·6H2O and NaNCO to yield one trinuclear complex with molecular formula [Cu3L2(µ1,1-NCO)2]. The synthesized complex was characterized by IR, UV–vis spectroscopy, and electrochemical analysis. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction study explores that the two terminal copper atoms adopt square pyramidal geometry, whereas the central copper atom situated at the inversion center is surrounded by four phenoxo oxygens and two end-on cyanato anions to adopt an octahedral geometry. The ONNO-tetradentate Schiff base ligand coordinates with the copper(II) ion via two oxygen atoms of the phenoxo-group and two nitrogen atoms from the imine moiety. A theoretical density functional theory (DFT) calculation was also carried out to supplement the experimental results. All the DFT calculations were done in gas phase.

Feature Fusion for Prediction of Theaflavin and Thearubigin in Tea Using Electronic Tongue

Abstract: Liquor characteristics of black cut, tear, and curl tea mostly depend on two biochemical components like theaflavin (TF) and thearubigin (TR). Evaluation of tea quality can be done efficiently by estimating the concentration of TF and TR without using biochemical tests as it takes much time, which requires laborious effort for sample preparation, storage, and measurement. Moreover, the required instruments for this test are very costly. In this paper, we have proposed an efficient method of TF and TR prediction in a given tea sample using electronic tongue (ET) signal. Combinations of transformed features, like discrete cosine transform, Stockwell transform (ST), and singular value decomposition, of ET signals are fused to develop regression models to predict the contents of TF, TR, and TR/TF. Three different regression models such as artificial neural network, vector-valued regularized kernel function approximation, and support vector regression are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. High prediction accuracy using fusion of features ensures the effectiveness of the proposed method for prediction of TF and TR using ET signals.

Analysis of a mathematical model of periodically pulsed chemotherapy treatment

Abstract: In this paper, we have considered competition models describing tumor–normal–immune cell interaction with the added effects of periodically pulsed chemotherapy The parametric conditions needed to prevent relapse following attempts to remove the tumor or tumor metastasis are obtained The effects of resistant tumor sub-populations are also investigated and recurrence prevention strategies are discussed Our analytical findings are explained through numerical simulation which show the reliability of our models from the epidemiological point of view

Emergence of the selective ultra-sensing of Ag(I): Thiolactic acid as efficient capping agent for cadmium chalcogenide quantum dots in modulating photoluminescence and metal reception

Abstract: Stable and water-soluble cadmium telluride quantum dots (CdTe QDs) have been employed for ultra-sensing exclusive to water soluble Ag(I). For this purpose we have designed and synthesized thiolactic acid (TLA) capped exquisite CdTe QDs having exclusive selectivity for silver. The limit of detection (LOD) of Ag(I) is 50 nM . The pendant methyl group of TLA effectively impedes the precursor aggregation by inhibiting the secondary coordination of carboxyl oxygen of mercapto acid with the surrounding Cd(II), and this results in highly luminescent TLA-CdTe QDs. This pendant methyl group of TLA also facilitates exclusive surface adsorption of QDs by incoming metal and renders sensing selectivity. Selective adsorption of silver on TLA-CdTe QD surface provides a turn-off photoluminescence-based assay for sensitive detection of Ag(I) without any interference of other commonly coexisting metal ions. Furthermore, analyses of environmental water samples spiked with Ag(I), demonstrate immense practical potential of our TLA-CdTe QD sensor for the detection of silver in real samples. The results also unveiled the possible origin of the sensing selectivity for metal ion by TLA-capped QDs which can serve in the design and selection of appropriate capping in achieving the desired sensing selectivity.

Design and performance analysis of MEMS capacitive pressure sensor array for measurement of heart rate

Abstract: In this paper, a diaphragm based MEMS capacitive pressure sensor array in conjunction with signal conditioning circuitry is designed for measuring Heart Rate (HR) of human being. In order to measure the heart rate, an array of capacitive sensors are mounted on wrist in such a way that the radial artery blood flow during contraction and expansion of the heart, impinges on the sensor diaphragms. Due to blood flow in the wrist artery, the designed circular diaphragm of the sensor is being deflected and thus induces a corresponding change in the original capacitance value. A proposed schematic of the system to measure the change in capacitance consists of signal conditioning circuitry along with the sensors. The structure of the sensor consists of parallel plates having 1.5 micron air gap in between. This change in capacitance is detected by a CMOS based capacitance-to-voltage converter which is designed as a precision interface with the sensor array. The designed MEMS sensor has a Poly Silicon diaphragm and is capable of identifying HR (60–100 bpm) which corresponds to a specific change in absolute pressure from 10 to 100 kPa for 5 micron thick diaphragm with 3600 µm area. The design of the sensor along with its fabrication steps and characteristics analysis are performed in FEM based simulation software.

Images and Spectral Properties of Two Component Advective Flows Around Black Holes: Effects of Photon Bending

Abstract: Two component advective flow (TCAF) successfully explains spectral and timing properties of black hole candidates. We study the nature of photon trajectories in the vicinity of a Schwarzschild black hole and incorporate this in predicting images of TCAF with a black hole at the Centre. We also compute the emitted spectra. We employ a Monte-Carlo simulation technique to achieve our goal. For accurate prediction of the image and the spectra, null trajectories are generated without constraining the motion to any specific plane. Red shift, bolometric flux and corresponding temperature have been calculated with appropriate relativistic consideration. The centrifugal barrier dominated boundary layer or CENBOL near the inner region of the disk which acts as the Compton cloud is appropriately modelled as a thick accretion disk in Schwarzschild geometry for the purpose of imaging and computing spectra. The variations of spectra and image with physical parameters such as the accretion rate ($\dot{m}_d$) and inclination angle are presented. We show that the gravitational bending effects of photons do change the spectral shape to some extent.

Development and Characterization of Carbonic Anhydrase-Based CO 2 Biosensor for Primary Diagnosis of Respiratory Health

Abstract: It is a global need to realize noninvasive, simple, rapid, selective, inexpensive, and portable assessment methods for diagnosis of diseases. Enzyme-based bio-sensing system, compared with traditional analytical methods, has all such potential attributes. This paper proposes carbonic anhydrase enzyme (CA) (E.C. 4.2.1.1)-based cost-effective, highly selective, and reproducible CO2 biosensing system that can measure CO2 concentration (ppm level) in expired breath accurately to give valuable information for assessing the respiratory disorders of the subjects. CA is extracted from spinach leaves and immobilized on an electrode assembly. The assembly generates a sensible electrical signal (mV) when brought in contact with the aqueous CO2. The sensor characterizes a linear response from 160–2677 ppm of CO2 concentration dissolved in water, good sensitivity (~0.132mV/ppm) with excellent fast response time within 12s. The features include repeatability, shelf life (~5 months), re-usability (~20 times), and selective responsiveness to the CO2 molecules in the exhaled breath. The feasibility for the use of the biosensor in a suitable setup for home-based monitoring of CO2 in exhaled breath has been proposed and justified. The device showed a good correlation between the results obtained from the sensor and established clinical test.

Quantum anomalous Hall phase and half-metallic phase in ferromagnetic (111) bilayers of 4 d and 5 d transition metal perovskites

Abstract: Extraordinary electronic phases can form in artificial oxide heterostructures, which will provide a fertile ground for new physics and also give rise to novel device functions. Based on a systematic first-principles density functional theory study of the magnetic and electronic properties of the (111) superlattices ${({AB\text{O}}_{3})}_{2}/{({AB}^{\ensuremath{'}}{\mathrm{O}}_{3})}_{10}$ of $4d$ and $5d$ transition metal perovskite ($B$ = Ru, Rh, Ag, Re, Os, Ir, Au; ${AB}^{\ensuremath{'}}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}={\mathrm{LaAlO}}_{3}, {\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3})$, we demonstrate that due to quantum confinement, bilayers ${({\text{La}B\text{O}}_{3})}_{2}$ ($B$ = Ru, Re, Os) and ${({\text{Sr}B\text{O}}_{3})}_{2}$ ($B$ = Rh, Os, Ir) are ferromagnetic with ordering temperatures up to room temperature. In particular, bilayer ${({\mathrm{LaOsO}}_{3})}_{2}$ is an exotic spin-polarized quantum anomalous Hall insulator, while the other ferromagnetic bilayers are metallic with large Hall conductances comparable to the conductance quantum. Furthermore, bilayers ${({\mathrm{LaRuO}}_{3})}_{2}$ and ${({\mathrm{SrRhO}}_{3})}_{2}$ are half metallic, while the bilayer ${({\mathrm{SrIrO}}_{3})}_{2}$ exhibits a peculiar colossal magnetic anisotropy. Our findings thus show that $4d$ and $5d$ metal perovskite (111) bilayers are a class of quasi-two-dimensional materials for exploring exotic quantum phases and also for advanced applications such as low-power nanoelectronics and oxide spintronics.

In-vitro evaluation of targeted release of probiotic Lactobacillus casei (2651 1951 RPK) from synbiotic microcapsules in the gastrointestinal (GI) system: Experiments and modeling

Abstract: The microencapsulation processes serve potentially to protect probiotic cells against adversity in the GI tract. The article focuses on the behavior and release characteristics of Lactobacillus casei from synbiotic microcapsules. Monod (μmax = 0.78 h−1, Ks = 2.44 g/L) Haldane (μmax = 0.05 h−1, Ks = 0.2 g/L, KI = 0.52 g/L) and summative models are followed by L. casei during its growth on lactose, inulin and the combination of these carbohydrates respectively. The internal micro-encapsulation efficiency (98%) for synbiotic microcapsules (24 μm) has been optimized with respect to concentrations of sodium alginate (2%), tween-80 and post-cooling temperature (25 °C) using Response Surface Methodology. In agreement with the prediction of proposed “burst release” mechanism, probiotic cells are released after 50 min if 1 g synbiotic microcapsules are initially suspended in 10 mL simulated large intestinal juice. A mathematical model has been developed to predict the concentration profiles of microcapsules and released probiotic cells in the GI system and has been validated through the successful comparison of simulated data with the results of in-vitro experiments. The concentration of released probiotic cells rises to 1.7E10/L in the large intestine. Interestingly, this is the first study on the prediction of release of L. casei from synbiotic microcapsules and is expected to be useful for similar systems.

The Habits of Highly Effective Researchers: An Empirical Study

Abstract: Interest in the habits of influential individuals cuts across domains. As researchers, we are intrigued why few attain significant eminence in their fields, whereas many operate in obscurity. An empirical examination of this question has been made possible by the recent availability of large scale publication data. In this paper, we use information from the AMiner Paper Citation and Author Collaboration Networks to discern factors that relate to the impact of influential researchers across five domains in the computing discipline. We propose and apply a novel algorithm to identify influential vertices in co-authorship networks built from total corpora of 1,00,000+ papers and 72,000+ authors over a span of more than 50 years. The results from our study indicate that the impact of these influential researchers relate to a variety of factors. Surprisingly, we find evidence across the domains that higher impact is associated with lower levels of collaboration, and authority.

Temporal evolution of photon energy emitted from two-component advective flows: origin of time lag

Abstract: X-Ray time lag of black hole candidates contains important information regarding the emission geometry. Recently, study of time lags from observational data revealed very intriguing properties. To investigate the real cause of this lag behavior with energy and spectral states, we study photon paths inside a Two Component Advective Flow (TCAF) which appears to be a satisfactory model to explain the spectral and timing properties. We employ the Monte-Carlo simulation technique to carry out the Comptonization process. We use a relativistic thick disk in Schwarzschild geometry as the CENtrifugal pressure supported BOundary Layer (CENBOL) which is the Compton cloud. In TCAF, this is the post-shock region of the advective component. Keplerian disk on the equatorial plane which is truncated at the inner edge i.e., at the outer boundary of the CENBOL, acts as the soft photon source. Ray-tracing code is employed to track the photons to a distantly located observer. We compute the cumulative time taken by a photon during Comptonization, reflection and following the curved geometry on the way to the observer. Time lags between various hard and soft bands have been calculated. We study the variation of time lags with accretion rates, CENBOL size and inclination angle. Time lags for different energy channels are plotted for different inclination angles. The general trend of variation of time lag with QPO frequency and energy as observed in satellite data is reproduced.