Computational intelligence for microarray data and biomedical image analysis for the early diagnosis of breast cancer

The objective of this paper was to perform a comparative analysis of the computational intelligence algorithms to identify breast cancer in its early stages. Two types of data representations were considered: microarray based and medical imaging based. In contrast to previous researches, this research also considered the imbalanced nature of these data. It was observed that the SMO algorithm performed better for the majority of the test data, especially for microarray based data when accuracy was used as performance measure. Considering the imbalanced characteristic of the data, the Naive Bayes algorithm was seen to perform highly in terms of true positive rate (TPR). Regarding the influence of SMOTE, a well-known imbalanced data classification technique, it was observed that there was a notable performance improvement for J48, while the performance of SMO remained comparable for the majority of the datasets. Overall, the results indicated SMO as the most potential candidate for the microarray and image dataset considered in this research.     

Study of electrical and micro-structural properties of high-κ gate dielectric stacks deposited using pulse laser deposition for MOS capacitor applications

The electrical properties of hafnium oxide (HfO₂) gate dielectric as a metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) capacitor structure deposited using pulse laser deposition (PLD) technique at optimum substrate temperatures in an oxygen ambient gas are investigated. The film thickness and microstructure are examined using ellipsometer and atomic force microscope (AFM), respectively to see the effect of substrate temperatures on the device properties. The electrical J–V, C–V characteristics of the dielectric films are investigated employing Al–HfO₂–Si MOS capacitor structure. The important parameters like leakage current density, flat-band voltage (V_fb) and oxide-charge density (Q_ox) for MOS capacitors are extracted and investigated for optimum substrate temperature. Further, electrical studies of these MOS capacitors have been carried out by incorporating La₂O₃ into HfO₂ to fabricate HfO₂/La₂O₃ dielectric stacks at an optimized substrate temperature of 800 °C using a PLD deposition technique under oxygen ambient. These Al–HfO₂–La₂O₃–Si dielectric stacks MOS capacitor structure are found to possess better electrical properties than that of HfO₂ based MOS capacitors using the PLD deposition technique.     

Novel preparation and high electrical performance effect of Mn-doped ultra-high surface area activated carbon (USAC) as an additive for Ni hybrid capacitors

This paper reports the synthesis of various molar concentrations of manganese (Mn)-doped Ultra-High Surface area Activated Carbon (USAC) additives and their efficient use as cathode materials for supercapacitors. We synthesized the nanoparticles via a novel and facile dip-coating process and characterized them in detail by various analytical techniques. The SEM, EDAX, and XPS results showed that the Mn ions were successfully substituted on the USAC additives’ layered structure without any structural changes. The long cyclic stability of the as-prepared Mn-doped USAC additives was tested as a cathode material for supercapacitors at different current densities. The detailed experimental results showed that the Mn dopant content crucially determines the electrochemical performances of the USAC additives. Electrochemical measurements showed that the MnCEP-S600HTT with 0.10 mol% molar concentration of Mn dopant gives the best cycling performances. It delivers a discharge capacity of 262.9 mAh g^?1 after 100 cycles. Further increasing the current density to 1000 mA g^?1 allowed it to still maintain 253.6 mAh g^?1 after 200 cycles. We confirmed that the structure of Mn-doped USAC additives is an important pole to improve the structural stability and electrochemical properties.     

Need of Alcohol Reference Materials and Reliable Measurement of Alcohol Content by Breath Alcohol Analyzer in India: An Overview

Breath alcohol analyser is used to detect alcohol content in end-expiratory breaths in order to enforce driving regulations under the influence of alcohol legislation. The accuracy and reliability of the routine measurements of alcohol content performed with breath alcohol analyser can be achieved by the calibration of the breath alcohol analyser using standards traceable to SI reference material. Proper calibration is essential for transparency in legal verification for which reference material is needed. At international level, a number of NMIs are active to address this important measurement issue of providing accurate measurements. Several international key comparison programs have been organized so far for the determination of ethanol content in aqueous and in nitrogen/air matrix. NIST, USA; BAM, Germany; IRMM, Belgium, Portugal, INMETRO, Brazil, LGC, UK etc. have developed certain reference materials of ethanol in water solution/air with different concentration ranges. However, no such reference material is introduced in India as an indigenous standard, rather, being procured from abroad or using high purity alcohol for calibration purposes. CSIR-NPL, India, being the NMI is now focusing on establishing the calibration facility and development of SI traceable aqueous alcohol standard to provide test reliability for the testing in breath alcohol analyser. This program has a societal impact which contributes to human health and regulatory needs for the nation.     

ZnO decorated luminescent graphene as a potential gas sensor at room temperature

We present a simplistic single step synthesis and a detailed study of the remarkable room temperature gas sensing and photoluminescence (PL) properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) decorated graphene oxide sheets (GrO). Investigation of opto-electronic properties reveal near UV to blue PL and semiconducting behavior of ZnO–GrO sheets. ZnO nano-crystallites serve the dual purpose of acting as a nano-spacer between dried graphene sheets as well as a primary sensing transducer for the gas sensing applications. PL has been used as a tool to study the defects associated with the surface of the nanocrystallite’s trap levels and/or acceptor–donor recombinations. Time-resolved PL was used to determine free carrier or exciton lifetimes, a vital parameter related to quality of composite and device performance. Results are presented for the detection of common industrial toxins like CO, NH₃ and NO for concentrations as low as 1 ppm at room temperature. A large sensor response and quick recovery time was observed at room temperature with preferred selectivity towards electron donor gases like CO and NH₃.     

Caffeine and ryanodine may act on the plasma membrane of the circular muscle at the flexure region in the guinea-pig colon

The actions of caffeine and ryanodine on the spontaneous rhythmic activities in the guinea-pig colon were studied by mechanical tension recording. Caffeine reduced the amplitude of the spontaneous rhythmic activity at low concentration (0.3 mM-1 mM). At high concentration (3-10 mM), it induced a phasic transient contraction. The spontaneous rhythmic activity and a phasic contraction induced by caffeine, were blocked by verapamil (3 microM) or by removal of external Ca2+. Ryanodine affected neither resting tension nor frequency of spontaneous activity at 1 microM. However in the circular muscle strips pretreated with ryanodine, a sustained contraction was initiated after the removal of caffeine (10 mM). Continuous Ca2+ influx was necessary for spontaneous rhythmic activities and a phasic transient contraction, because it was abolished completely by the removal of external Ca2+, Verapamil (3 microM), a voltage gated L-type Ca2+ channels blocker, inhibited the spontaneous rhythmic activities and also inhibited phasic transit contraction followed by a sustained contraction induced by 10 mM caffeine. Our results suggest that caffeine may produce a sustained contraction by activating verapamil sensitive Ca2+ channel. In the muscle pretreated with both caffeine and ryanodine, continuous Ca2+ influx may occur also through verapamil sensitive pathway.     

Year round performance of a cylindrical solar water heater

A cylindrical collector-cum-storage type solar water heater has been designed, developed and tested. Its year round performance has been carried out and reported in this paper. The heater can provide 50 litres of hot water at 50–60°C in the afternoon and a temperature of 35°C can be retained till the next day for early morning use. The heater receives approximately 30% more radiation as compared to a flat surface. The economics of the heater has been worked out and it has been found that the cost can be recovered within one year.     

Capital cost and economic viability of thermosyphonic solar water heaters manufactured from alternate materials in India

Many companies in India manufacture solar water heaters but these are not becoming popular in the domestic sector because of their high cost. The Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES), New Delhi is recommending flat-plate collectors with copper (Cu) risers, headers and plate. Therefore, their cost is high. Long term studies have been carried out at the Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, to reduce the cost by replacing copper tubes with galvanised steel (G.S.) tube and copper plate with aluminium (Al) plate. The aluminium plate is wrapped over the G.S. tube by a special wire wound technique so that good contact of plate with risers and headers has been maintained. In this paper performance and testing of solar water heaters having G.S.–Al fin, Cu–Al fin and Cu–Cu fin in flat-plate collectors have been compared. It has been found that performance of all the three heaters is almost similar. The heater can provide 100 litres of hot water at an average temperature 62.0°C at 4 pm that can be retained to 50.4°C when average tap water temperature was 23.9°C. The efficiency of the heater is 51.9%. The cost of the heater with G.S.–Al collector is only Rs. 8,000.00 while it is Rs. 10,250.00 for solar water heaters with Cu–Cu collectors. The payback period of a solar water heater with G.S.–Al collector has been worked out by considering 10% compound annual interest, 5% maintenance cost, 5%, inflation in fuel prices and maintenance cost. The payback period varies between 2.92 years to 4.53 years depending upon which fuel it replaces. The payback periods are in increasing order with respect to fuels: electricity, firewood, LPG, charcoal, and kerosene.