Low‐Power and Low‐Hardware Bit‐Parallel Polynomial Basis Systolic Multiplier over GF(2m) for Irreducible Polynomials

Multiplication in finite fields is used in many applications, especially in cryptography. It is a basic and the most computationally intensive operation from among all such operations. Several systolic multipliers are proposed in the literature that offer low hardware complexity or high speed. In this paper, a bit‐parallel polynomial basis systolic multiplier for generic irreducible polynomials is proposed based on a modified interleaved multiplication method. The hardware complexity and delay of the proposed multiplier are estimated, and a comparison with the corresponding multipliers available in the literature is presented. Of the corresponding multipliers, the proposed multiplier achieves a reduction in the hardware complexity of up to 20% when compared to the best multiplier for m = 163. The synthesis results of application‐specific integrated circuit and field‐programmable gate array implementations of the proposed multiplier are also presented. From the synthesis results, it is inferred that the proposed multiplier achieves low power consumption and low area complexitywhen compared to the best of the corresponding multipliers.     

Monthly flow forecast for Mississippi River basin using artificial neural networks

Long-term monthly flow forecasts are essential for decision making in a river basin system. Many studies have already been reported on monthly as well as seasonal forecast using artificial neural networks (ANNs). This study demonstrates that monthly forecasts can be significantly improved if the input variables in ANN models are chosen with due consideration, even if number of training patterns are less. Monthly forecast models up to 12-month lead-time have been developed for Mississippi River in USA. It is seen that direct forecast with only antecedent flows as inputs does not improve the result. It is better to develop individual models for each month separately with information from previous years for the same month. Further, the forecast is found to significantly improve if the difference in predicted and actual flows is also included as one of the input variables (i.e. error updating), particularly where there is a clearly observed pattern in the historical information.     

Studies on fly‐ash‐filled natural rubber modified with cardanol derivatives: Processability,mechanical properties,fracture morphology,and thermal decomposition characteristics

Fly ash, a by‐product of thermal power stations, was used as a filler in natural rubber (NR) in presence of 5–10 phr of phosphorylated cardanol prepolymer (PCP) and hexamethylene tetramine cured PCP (PCPHM). The compositions modified with the cardanol‐based resins showed lower power consumption for mixing, lower cure time, improved tensile properties and tear strength, and higher thermal stability. Scanning electron microscopy of the fracture surfaces of the tensile‐failed specimens showed finer and more uniformly distributed filler particles in the rubber matrix in the presence of PCP/PCPHM. The cardanol‐based resins are expected to function as a coupling agent between the filler and rubber leading to the improvement in mechanical properties. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 4801–4808, 2006     

Effectiveness of depolarizing noise in causing sudden death of entanglement

Continuing on the recent observation that sudden death of entanglement can occur even when a single qubit of a 2-qubit state is exposed to noisy environment (Yashodamma and Sudha in Results Phys 3:41–45, 2013), we examine the local action of a noise on bipartite qubit–qutrit and qutrit–qutrit systems. We show that depolarizing noise causes sudden death of entanglement in both qubit–qutrit and qutrit–qutrit systems even when it acts only on one part of the system. While generalized amplitude damping noise also causes finite-time disentanglement in qubit–qutrit states, the entanglement sudden death occurs much faster due to depolarizing noise. This result strengthens the observation (Yashodamma and Sudha in Results Phys 3:41–45, 2013) that depolarizing noise is more effective than other noise models in causing sudden death of entanglement.     

Electrical properties of iron (III) molybdate

Electrical transport properties, i.e. a.c. and d.c. electrical conductivities, thermoelectric power and dielectric constant, of Fe₂(MoO₄)₃ have been measured in the temperature range 300 to 1000 K on pressed pellets of a polycrystalline sample, using the two electrode method. Iron (III) molybdate has been found to be a p-type semiconductor with an energy gap of 3.1 eV. Intrinsic conduction occurs at 750 K and the activation energies below and above 750 K are 0.51 and 1.55 eV, respectively. The thermoelectric power increases up to 750 K and after that it decreases with increasing temperature. The dielectric constant increases with temperature over the entire temperature range measured except 650 to 750 K, where it has a constant value.[/p]     

TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION DURING ELECTRO-DISCHARGE ABRASIVE GRINDING

The objective of this work is to develop a finite element method (FEM) based mathematical model to simulate the hybrid machining process of grinding and electric discharge machining (EDM), named as Electro-discharge abrasive grinding (EDAG), for temperature distribution in the workpiece. Two different finite element codes have been developed to calculate the temperature distribution due to grinding heat source and EDM heat source separately. The transient temperature field within workpiece due to cut-off grinding is determined due to moving rectangular heat source. Gaussian heat distribution of power within a spark has been considered in the calculation of temperature distribution due to EDM. Temperature distribution in the workpiece due to combined process is obtained by using superposition. The simulation shows a sudden rise in temperature at the spark location. The predicted results can be used for calculation of thermal stresses, which play a major role as far as high-quality product requirements are concerned.     

Environmental impact assessment of river valley projects in upper Teesta basin of Eastern Himalaya with special reference to fish conservation: a review

Teesta river basin in Eastern Himalaya is being subjected to cascade hydropower development. To assess the impacts of this developmental activity on fish fauna of the basin, fish habitats of the four largest tributaries in the basin were selected for the present study. A total of 18 large hydroelectric projects are planned on these rivers. Here, a total of 11 EIAs and 2 carrying capacity studies in Teesta basin were reviewed. Our investigations show that after commissioning all the projects, 52–88% of the free-flowing river stretches will be diverted and 7.6–24% of the riverine ecosystems will be converted into semi lacustrine ecosystems in different rivers. The cascade hydropower development is likely to affect more than 100 fish species. All the EIA reports reviewed have investigated fish species richness, impacts on fish fauna and fishery management plans. EIA studies and management plans, however, do not adequately address important ecological and conservation issues due to various limitations. An integrated fish conservation plan for the upper Teesta basin is suggested in this contribution.     

Role of amphiphilic dopants on the shape and properties of electrically conducting polyaniline‐clay nanocomposite

The role of functionality and rigidity of the amphiphilic dopants on the morphology and electrical property of the polyaniline‐clay nanocomposites (PANICNs) were studied by preparing polyaniline (PANI) and PANICNs using five structurally different amphiphilic dopants having backbone—phenyl, naphthyl, alicyclic, and alkyl groups. Effect of the size and functionality of the dopant on the extent of intercalation/exfoliation, morphology, thermal stability, and phase transitions were studied. PANICNs exhibited different morphologies such as nano/micro granules, rods, nanotubes, aggregated layers/clusters, and rice grain for PANICN‐2,6‐naphthalene sulphonic acid, PANICN‐para‐toluene sulphonic acid, PANICN‐stearic acid, PANICN‐dodecyl benzene sulphonic acid, and PANICN‐camphor sulphonic acid, respectively. X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, and scanning electron microscopic studies showed that the self‐assembled nano/microstured aggregates were formed by the combined effect of many noncovalent interactions such as phenyl–phenyl stacking, hydrogen bonding, ion–dipole interaction, π–π stacking, and electrostatic layer‐by‐layer self‐assembling. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009.     

The effect of housing assistance arrangements on household recovery: an empirical test of donor-assisted and owner-driven approaches

The paper assesses whether different types of housing assistance–owner-driven in situ or donor-assisted resettlement housing programs—influence perceptions of household recovery by tsunami-affected households. Utilizing data gathered in India 3½ years after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, we compared the perceptions of households provided with either in situ housing assistance or resettlement/relocation housing assistance. The extent to which households have recovered from the disaster was also examined to gauge the importance of housing arrangements in household recovery. We found that the beneficiaries of the resettlement programs generally experienced improvements in basic household amenities, while households provided with financial and material assistance for in situ housing repairs and rebuilding reported better access to essential services. When assessed in terms of perceptions of overall household recovery, the beneficiaries of in situ housing assistance programs fared better than beneficiaries of the resettlement programs despite the former receiving lower monetary assistance. These findings offer new insights to architects, designers, and public officials on what types of housing assistance arrangements expedite the overall recovery process and can help to evaluate and refocus funding towards specific housing recovery programs. The analysis thereby makes it easier to gauge the successes and failures of post disaster housing recovery programs.