CSRS-MAC: Cluster Based Synchronous Radio Scheduling MAC Protocol Using Carrier Sense Multiple Access for Wireless Sensor Network

Wireless Personal Communications - Wireless sensor network is gaining popularity due to its large-scale deployment in Internet of Things. The constraints of resources influence the protocol design...     

Channel Models for Inter-body Communication in Ultra Wideband-Based Body Area Networks

Wireless Personal Communications - Body area networks (BANs) are evolving tremendously over the years and with the progress in the area of internet of things, the BANs are more important than ever....     

A Survey on Advanced Multiple Access Techniques for 5G and Beyond Wireless Communications

Wireless Personal Communications - This paper summarizes the ongoing research initiatives based on the advanced multiple access techniques towards the fifth generation (5G) wireless communication...     

Use of cellular confinement for improved railway performance on soft subgrades

Due to extensive right-of-way, railroads are inevitably subject to poor subgrade conditions and interrupted service for significant maintenance due to excessive deformations and loss of track geometry. Geocell confinement presents itself as a possible solution for improving performance of ballasted railroad embankments over weak subgrade. To investigate the efficacy of geocell confinement on ballasted railway embankments, a set of well-instrumented, large-scale cyclic plate loading tests and numerical simulations were performed on geocell-confined ballast overlaying a weak subgrade material. The agreement of results from tests and simulations served as a basis for simulating practical track geometry and performance for various geocell configurations and subgrades using three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) analyses. The study showed that geocell reinforcement significantly decreased track settlement, decreased subgrade deformations with lower and uniform distribution of vertical stresses on subgrade and inhibited lateral deformation and serviceability under cyclic loading. These results demonstrate that geocell confinement can be an effective alternative to subsurface improvement or shorter maintenance cycles, particularly on weak subgrades.     

A Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Inhibitor, 1-trifluoromethoxyphenyl-3-(1-propionylpiperidin-4-yl) Urea,Ameliorates Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential FAs for human health. Cytochrome P450 oxygenates PUFAs to produce anti-inflammatory and pain-resolving epoxy fatty acids (EpFAs) and other oxylipins whose epoxide ring is opened by the soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH/Ephx2), resulting in the formation of toxic and pro-inflammatory vicinal diols (dihydroxy-FAs). Pharmacological inhibition of sEH is a promising strategy for the treatment of pain, inflammation, cardiovascular diseases, and other conditions. We tested the efficacy of a potent, selective sEH inhibitor, 1-trifluoromethoxyphenyl-3-(1-propionylpiperidin-4-yl) urea (TPPU), in an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Prophylactic TPPU treatment significantly ameliorated EAE without affecting circulating white blood cell counts. TPPU accumulated in the spinal cords (SCs), which was correlated with plasma TPPU concentration. Targeted lipidomics in EAE SCs and plasma identified that TPPU blocked production of dihydroxy-FAs efficiently and increased some EpFA species including 12(13)-epoxy-octadecenoic acid (12(13)-EpOME) and 17(18)-epoxy-eicosatrienoic acid (17(18)-EpETE). TPPU did not alter levels of cyclooxygenase (COX-1/2) metabolites, while it increased 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE) and other 12/15-lipoxygenase metabolites. These analytical results are consistent with sEH inhibitors that reduce neuroinflammation and accelerate anti-inflammatory responses, providing the possibility that sEH inhibitors could be used as a disease modifying therapy, as well as for MS-associated pain relief.     

Renewable energy scenario in Telangana

ABSTRACT

This article presents an analysis of the current situation of renewable energy in Telangana, India, and predicts the future of renewable energy resources in the state. In India, maximum power is generated using conventional energy sources such as coal and mineral oil. They highly pollute the atmosphere. If new power plants are to be set up, then the import of highly volatile fossil fuels is inevitable. Though nuclear energy is a good alternative to reduce fossil fuel consumption, it is equally hazardous to human life. Hence, the energy world should think of judicious use of renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, ocean, biomass, and geothermal energy. The R&D activities carried out in India in the past three decades have shown good progress in finding a feasible solution to the problem of searching new renewable energy resources. Telangana is the state committed to use the renewable resources in a better way to fulfil its electrical energy needs. This article also analyses the current energy needs of the state and forecasts energy consumption and production in the future with the aim of finding whether the state can continue on the path of development and augment its renewable energy resources.     

Carbon dioxide emission and its regulation at land–water interface downstream of a point source at Ganga River (India)

The streams and rivers are considered hotspots of CO₂ exchange; and representative direct CO₂ emission measurements are essential for a correct regional estimate. We measured CO₂ emission flux at 15 sites at land–water interface downstream of a point source during low flow for three consecutive months for the year 2017. The general range of CO₂ efflux observed here was close to the results of regional studies, although values near the point source were disproportionately high (>350 mg/m²/h). CO₂ emission flux showed strong dependence on total organic carbon (TOC; R² = 0.96; P < 0.001), (R² = 0.88; P < 0.001), soluble reactive‐P (SRP; R² = 0.91; P < 0.001) and microbial activity measured in terms of fluorescein diacetate activity (FDAase; R² = 0.92; P < 0.001) and substrate induced respiration (SIR; R² = 0.96; P < 0.001). Because point source‐associated interfaces provide heterogeneous habitats, our study suggests the need for large scale monitoring of CO₂ emission at land–water interface of major rivers for more correctly presenting the regional scale CO₂ budget.     

Treatment of oily waters using vermiculite

The main objective of this study was to examine the removal of oil from water by expanded and hydrophobized vermiculite. A pH of 9 showed a higher removal efficiency of oil by vermiculite. Oil removal efficiencies at pH 9 were found to be 79%, 93%, 90%, 57% for standard mineral oil (SMO), Canola oil (CO), Kutwell oil (KUT45), refinery effluent (RE), respectively, in the case of expanded vermiculite, and 56%, 58%, 47%, 43% for SMO, CO, KUT45 and RE, respectively, for hydrophobized vermiculite. Kinetic data satisfied both the Lagergren and Ho models. Equilibrium studies showed that the Langmuir isotherm was the best-fit isotherm for oil removal by both expanded and hydrophobized vermiculite. The data showed a higher adsorptive capacity by the expanded vermiculite compared to the hydrophobized vermiculite. Desorption studies showed that the expanded vermiculite did not desorb oil to the same extent compared to hydrophobized vermiculite. The Freundlich isotherm was the best-fit model for desorption. Expanded vermiculite showed better retention than hydrophobic vermiculite. The results showed that the expanded vermiculite had a greater affinity for oil than hydrophobized vermiculite.     

Hybrid system for handling premature convergence in GA – Case of grammar induction

Grammar induction (also known as grammar inference or language learning) is the process of learning grammar from training data. This paper presents hybrid genetic algorithm (GA) Tool for handling premature convergence for the case of grammar induction. The tool is developed in Java and the results are tested for the set of 20 languages. It is an effort towards introduction of a hybrid GA system where the collection of more than one type of reproduction methods is used for the grammar induction. Paper also includes the discussion on the various approaches used by author for handling the premature convergence problem in using GA.