Synaptic electronics and neuromorphic computing

In order to map the computing architecture and intelligent functions of the human brain on hardware, we need electronic devices that can emulate biological synapses and even neurons, preferably at the physical level. Beginning with the history of neuromorphic computation, in this article, we will briefly review the architecture of the brain and the learning mechanisms responsible for its plasticity. We will also introduce several memristive devices that have been used to implement electronic synapses, presenting some important milestones in this area of research and discussing their advantages, disadvantages, and future prospects.     

A perceptually motivated stationary wavelet packet filterbank using improved spectral over-subtraction for enhancement of speech in various noise environments

In this paper, we propose a speech enhancement method where the front-end decomposition of the input speech is performed by temporally processing using a filterbank. The proposed method incorporates a perceptually motivated stationary wavelet packet filterbank (PM-SWPFB) and an improved spectral over-subtraction (I-SOS) algorithm for the enhancement of speech in various noise environments. The stationary wavelet packet transform (SWPT) is a shift invariant transform. The PM-SWPFB is obtained by selecting the stationary wavelet packet tree in such a manner that it matches closely the non-linear resolution of the critical band structure of the psychoacoustic model. After the decomposition of the input speech, the I-SOS algorithm is applied in each subband, separately for the estimation of speech. The I-SOS uses a continuous noise estimation approach and estimate noise power from each subband without the need of explicit speech silence detection. The subband noise power is estimated and updated by adaptively smoothing the noisy signal power. The smoothing parameter in each subband is controlled by a function of the estimated signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The performance of the proposed speech enhancement method is tested on speech signals degraded by various real-world noises. Using objective speech quality measures (SNR, segmental SNR (SegSNR), perceptual evaluation of speech quality (PESQ) score), and spectrograms with informal listening tests, we show that the proposed speech enhancement method outperforms than the spectral subtractive-type algorithms and improves quality and intelligibility of the enhanced speech.     

Dodecylmethacrylate – olive oil copolymers as potential biodegradable pour point depressant for lubricating oil

The application of greener additives based on vegetable oils has attracted considerable interest due to their biocompatibility and enhanced additive performances compared to conventional additives. Keeping this view in mind and in continuation of our explorative studies on lube oil additives, copolymer of dodecylmethacrylate with olive oil have been synthesized in a focused mono-mode microwave oven using BZP (benzoyl peroxide) as radical initiator. Characterization of the prepared polymers has been performed by spectral (NMR, IR), and SEC-GPC analysis. Performance evaluation of the polymers as pour point depressant (PPD), and viscosity modifier (VM) / viscosity index improver (VII) in different base oils (mineral) have been performed by standard ASTM methods. Biodegradability of the prepared additives was tested against fungal pathogens and microorganisms by disc diffusion (DD) method and by soil burial test (SBT) method respectively. Thermal stability of each of them has been evaluated and included. The multifunctional performances have been compared and reported. The copolymers showed excellent PPD performance along with VM properties and potential biodegradability.     

Comparative Study on Microstructural Characteristics and Compression Deformation Behaviour of Alumina and Cenosphere Reinforced Aluminum Syntactic Foam Made Through Stir Casting Technique

In order to examine the effect of microballoons type on microstructure and compressive deformation behaviour of aluminum syntactic foam, alumina reinforced and cenosphere reinforced aluminum syntactic foams have been made through stir-casting technique. Alumina microballoons reinforced aluminum syntactic foam (AMRASF) has been developed using stir casting technique. Volume fraction of alumina microballoons in AMRASF varies in the range of 0.39–0.74. The compressive deformation behavior of these AMRASF is compared with that of cenosphere reinforced aluminum syntactic foam (CPRASF). The AMRASF does not exhibit clear plastic collapse stage as observed in case of CPRSAF. It is further noted that AMRASF shows the existence of work hardening phenomena after yielding but CPRASF does not show any significant work hardening after yielding even at higher relative densities of foam. This is explained on the basis of characteristics of alumina microballoons and cenospheres and interface characteristics between matrix and respective microballoons used. Effect of individual microballoons’ characteristics on the foam properties has also been explained.     

On the Microstructure and Wear Behavior of Fe–xCr–4Mn–3C Hardfacing Alloys

The present paper describes an investigation aimed at evaluating the microstructural and dry sliding adhesive wear characteristics of Fe–xCr–4Mn–3C hardfacing alloys applied through shielded metal arc welding. The effect of chromium addition on the microstructure of hardfacings was carried out by using optical microscope, field emission scanning electron microscope and X-ray mapping. Dry sliding wear tests were performed on a pin-on-disc wear tribometer. From the experimental results, it was observed that the primary carbides were refined and increased with the increase of chromium content. The morphology of carbides revealed that the primary carbides were rod shaped. The increased chromium content was also found to be beneficial to enhance hardness and wear resistance of hardfacings. The correlation between hardness and wear resistance exhibited the reliability of hardness as an indicator of the wear performance of hardfacings.     

Microwave-assisted extraction of chlorogenic acids from green coffee beans

Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) has been considered as a potential alternative to conventional solvent extraction for the isolation of phenolic compounds from plants. Aqueous and alcoholic extracts of green coffee bean obtained by MAE were quantitatively analysed for total yield of extracts, chlorogenic acids, caffeine and total polyphenol content. The extracts were also evaluated for radical-scavenging activity, using 1,1-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl radical. Under optimum conditions of time (5 min), temperature (50 °C) and wattage (800 W), the maximum chlorogenic acids and caffeine could be extracted with water as solvent. The extracts contained chlorogenic acids and caffeine in the ranges of 31–62% and 22–40%, respectively. The yields of MAE under optimum conditions were higher than those from the conventional solvent extraction at 5 min and 50 °C and the extracts showed radical-scavenging activity of >75%, even at the concentration of 25 ppm. The MAE process can thus be predicted and controlled for industrial application.     

An Outlook on Chlorogenic Acids—Occurrence,Chemistry, Technology,and Biological Activities

Phenolics are widespread dietary antioxidants. Among these, chlorogenic acids (CGAs) received considerable attention for their wide distribution and part of human diet with potential biological effects. CGAs (71 compounds), being esters of derivatives of cinnamic acids with quinic acid are widely distributed in plant materials. Coffee is among the highest found in plants, ranging from 4 to 14%. Besides, these are reported in plant foods such as apples, pears, carrot, tomato, sweet potato, Phyllostachys edulis, oilseeds, Prunus domestica L, cherries, and eggplant. The traditional Chinese medicinal plants such as flowers and buds of Lonicera japonica Thunb and the leaves of Eucommia ulmodies contained CGAs as bioactive compound. These play an important role in the formation of roasted coffee flavor and have a marked influence on coffee cup quality. CGAs are considered as main precursors of coffee flavor and pigments. Recent technological advancements in the separation and purification of CGAs such as molecular-imprinted polymer technique; microwave-assisted extraction; pH gradient counter current chromatography has also been described. The consumption of coffee correlated to several health benefits such as reducing the risk of human chronic diseases such as inflammation, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease owing to its antioxidant potential.     

Challenges and Developments in Secure Routing Protocols for Healthcare in WBAN: A Comparative Analysis

Wireless Personal Communications - The rise in life expectancy of humans, COVID-19 pandemic and growing cost of medical services has brought up huge challenges for the government and healthcare...     

Removal of Cr(VI) from wastewater by adsorption on iron nanoparticles

Due to rapid industrialisation, the presence of heavy metals in water and wastewater is a matter of environmental concern. Though some of the metals are essential for our system but if present beyond their threshold limit value (TLV), they are harmful and their treatment prior to disposal becomes inevitable. The present communication has been addressed to the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions by nanoparticles of iron. Nanoparticles of iron were prepared by sol–gel method. The characterisation of the nanoparticles was carried out by XRD and TEM analysis. Batch experiments were adopted for the adsorption of Cr(VI) from its solutions. The effect of different important parameters such as contact time and initial concentration, pH, adsorbent dose, and temperature on removal of chromium was studied. The removal of chromium increased from 88. 5% to 99.05% by decreasing its initial concentration from 15 to 5 mg L^?1 at optimum conditions. Removal of Cr(VI) was found to be highly pH dependent and a maximum removal (100%) was obtained at pH 2.0. The process of removal was governed by first and pseudo‐second‐order kinetic equations and their rate constants were determined. The process of removal was also governed by intraparticle diffusion. Values of the thermodynamic parameters viz. ΔG°, ΔH°, and ΔS° at different temperatures were determined. The data generated in this study can be used to design treatment plants for chromium rich industrial effluents. Adsorption results indicate that nanoiron particles can be effective for the removal of chromium from aqueous solutions.     

Effect of curvature on structures and vibrations of zigzag carbon nanotubes: A first-principles study

First-principles pseudopotential-based density functional theory calculations of atomic and electronic structures, full phonon dispersions and thermal properties of zigzag single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are presented. By determining the correlation between vibrational modes of a graphene sheet and of the nanotube, we understand how rolling of the sheet results in mixing between modes and changes in vibrational spectrum of graphene. We find that the radial breathing mode softens with decreasing curvature. We estimate thermal expansion coefficient of nanotubes within a quasiharmonic approximation and identify the modes that dominate thermal expansion of some of these SWCNTs both at low and high temperatures.