FSE2R: An Improved Collision-Avoidance-based Energy Efficient Route Selection Protocol in USN

The 3D Underwater Sensor Network (USNs) has become the most optimistic medium for tracking and monitoring underwater environment. Energy and collision are two most critical factors in USNs for both sparse and dense regions. Due to harsh ocean environment, it is a challenge to design a reliable energy efficient with collision free protocol. Diversity in link qualities may cause collision and frequent communication lead to energy loss; that effects the network performance. To overcome these challenges a novel protocol Forwarder Selection Energy Efficient Routing (FSE2R) is proposed. Our proposal’s key idea is based on computation of node distance from the sink, Residual Energy (RE) of each node and Signal to Interference Noise Ratio (SINR). The node distance from sink and RE is computed for reliable forwarder node selection and SINR is used for analysis of collision. The novel proposal compares with existing protocols like H2AB, DEEP, and E2LR to achieve Quality of Service (QoS) in terms of throughput, packet delivery ratio and energy consumption. The comparative analysis shows that FSE2R gives on an average 30% less energy consumption, 24.62% better PDR and 48.31% less end-to-end delay compared to other protocols.     

Ratcheting Behavior of a Non-conventional Stainless Steel and Associated Microstructural Variations

Ratcheting fatigue behavior of a non-conventional stainless steel X12CrMnNiN17-7-5 has been investigated with varying combinations of mean stress (σ_m) and stress amplitude (σ_a) at room temperature using a servo-hydraulic universal testing machine. X-ray diffraction profile analysis has been carried out for assessing possible martensitic phase transformation in the steel subjected to ratcheting deformation. The results indicate that ratcheting strain as well as volume fraction of martensite increases with increasing σ_m and/or σ_a; the phenomenon of strain accumulation is considered to be governed by the associated mechanics of cyclic loading, increased plastic damage as well as martensitic transformation. A correlation between strain produced by ratcheting deformation and martensitic transformation has been established.     

Real-time packet loss prediction based on end-to-end delay variation

The effect of packet loss on the quality of real-time audio is significant. Nevertheless, Internet measurement experiments continue to show a considerable variation of packet loss, which makes audio error recovery and concealment challenging. We propose a novel framework to predict packet loss and congestion, based on measurements of end-to-end delay variation and trend, enabling proactive error recovery and congestion avoidance. Our preliminary simulation and experimentation results with various sites on the Internet show the effectiveness and the accuracy of the Loss Predictor technique.     

Ab initio study of mono-layer 2-D insulators (X-(OH)2 and h-BN) and their use in MTJ memory device

The paper presents an ab initio study of the 2-D insulators and their effect on the performance of a magnetic tunnel junction memory (MTJ) device. MTJ devices has been considered as an alternate to the charge based data storage cells due to its spin-polarised operation and high scaling probability. The use of 2-D insulators like X-(OH)₂ (X: Ca and Mg) and h-BN (hexagonal-Boron Nitride) in such device would be interesting. The authors have calculated the band structures, density of states and effective mass of electrons and holes for the mono-layer of these three non-conventional 2-D insulators using the first principle calculations in density functional theory framework using Quantumwise ATK tool. The ab initio calculation yielded band gap (E_g) of 4.633, 4.685 and 4.249 eV for h-BN, Ca(OH)₂ and Mg(OH)₂, respectively. The effective mass of electrons was calculated as 0.621, 0.604 and 0.478 for single layer h-BN, Ca(OH)₂ and Mg(OH)₂, respectively. While for holes it is 0.834, 0.446 and 0.407, respectively for h-BN, Ca(OH)₂ and Mg(OH)₂. The MTJ device properties as tunneling-magneto resistance, differential TMR, parallel and anti-parallel resistance, differential resistance and spin transfer torque components (in-plane and out-of-plane) with these materials as composite dielectric has been reported in this paper using MTJ Lab tool. The performance of MTJ memory device with h-BN based composite dielectric is found better.

     

Ensemble clustering using semidefinite programming with applications

In this paper, we study the ensemble clustering problem, where the input is in the form of multiple clustering solutions. The goal of ensemble clustering algorithms is to aggregate the solutions into one solution that maximizes the agreement in the input ensemble. We obtain several new results for this problem. Specifically, we show that the notion of agreement under such circumstances can be better captured using a 2D string encoding rather than a voting strategy, which is common among existing approaches. Our optimization proceeds by first constructing a non-linear objective function which is then transformed into a 0-1 Semidefinite program (SDP) using novel convexification techniques. This model can be subsequently relaxed to a polynomial time solvable SDP. In addition to the theoretical contributions, our experimental results on standard machine learning and synthetic datasets show that this approach leads to improvements not only in terms of the proposed agreement measure but also the existing agreement measures based on voting strategies. In addition, we identify several new application scenarios for this problem. These include combining multiple image segmentations and generating tissue maps from multiple-channel Diffusion Tensor brain images to identify the underlying structure of the brain.     

Wetting behavior of polymer coated nanoporous anodic alumina films: transition from super-hydrophilicity to super-hydrophobicity

We show that nanoporous anodic alumina films, with pore diameters in the range 10-80 nm, can be transformed from being very hydrophilic (or super-hydrophilic) to very hydrophobic (or super-hydrophobic) by coating the surface with a thin (2-3 nm) layer of a hydrophobic polymer. This dramatic transformation happens as a result of the interplay between surface morphology and surface chemistry. The coated surfaces exhibit 'sticky' hydrophobicity as a result of ingress of water into the pores by capillary action. The wetting parameters (contact angle and contact angle hysteresis) exhibit qualitatively different dependences on pore diameters in coated and uncoated films, which are explained by invoking appropriate models for wetting.     

Brachytherapy seed localization using geometric and linear programming techniques

We propose an optimization algorithm to solve the brachytherapy seed localization problem in prostate brachytherapy. Our algorithm is based on novel geometric approaches to exploit the special structure of the problem and relies on a number of key observations which help us formulate the optimization problem as a minimization integer program (IP). Our IP model precisely defines the feasibility polyhedron for this problem using a polynomial number of half-spaces; the solution to its corresponding linear program is rounded to yield an integral solution to our task of determining correspondences between seeds in multiple projection images. The algorithm is efficient in theory as well as in practice and performs well on simulation data (approximately 98% accuracy) and real X-ray images (approximately 95% accuracy). We present in detail the underlying ideas and an extensive set of performance evaluations based on our implementation.     

3D imaging and quantification of PLL coated fluorescent ZnO NP distribution and ROS accumulation using laser scanning confocal microscopy

Investigations on nanomedicine involve conventional two dimensional (2D) imaging techniques for observing the nanoparticle internalization at a single time point where various phases of internalization can be overlooked. In contrast, three dimensional (3D) imaging of fluorescent nanoparticles with anticancer potential can be used for obtaining the time course of cellular retention of particles, and cells can be followed for days. This article demonstrates the application of laser scanning confocal microscopy to quantify poly-l -lysine coated fluorescent ZnO nanoparticle retention and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation using volumetric imaging. Synthesis of these particles allows monitoring of ROS formation, internalization, and cytotoxicity using the same imaging platform that offers an advantage over measurement using various instruments. PLL-coated ZnO particles' ability to induce a significant reduction in cell-viability suggests its potential as a therapeutic agent. The proposed framework opens up a new avenue for investigating mechanistic aspects of ZnO adsorption and the evaluation of therapeutic efficiency.     

Repression of MUC1 Promotes Expansion and Suppressive Function of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells in Pancreatic and Breast Cancer Murine Models

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are immature myeloid cells that are responsible for immunosuppression in tumor microenvironment. Here we report the impact of mucin 1 (MUC1), a transmembrane glycoprotein, on proliferation and functional activity of MDSCs. To determine the role of MUC1 in MDSC phenotype, we analyzed MDSCs derived from wild type (WT) and MUC1-knockout (MUC1KO) mice bearing syngeneic pancreatic (KCKO) or breast (C57MG) tumors. We observed enhanced tumor growth of pancreatic and breast tumors in the MUC1KO mice compared to the WT mice. Enhanced tumor growth in the MUC1KO mice was associated with increased numbers of suppressive MDSCs and T regulatory (Tregs) cells in the tumor microenvironment. Compared to the WT host, MUC1KO host showed higher levels of iNOS, ARG1, and TGF-β, thus promoting proliferation of MDSCs with an immature and immune suppressive phenotype. When co-cultured with effector T cells, MDSCs from MUC1KO mice led to higher repression of IL-2 and IFN-γ production by T cells as compared to MDSCs from WT mice. Lastly, MDSCs from MUC1KO mice showed higher levels of c-Myc and activated pSTAT3 as compared to MDSCs from WT mice, suggesting increased survival, proliferation, and prevention of maturation of MDSCs in the MUC1KO host. We report diminished T cell function in the KO versus WT mice. In summary, the data suggest that MUC1 may regulate signaling pathways that are critical to maintain the immunosuppressive properties of MDSCs.     

Catalytic decomposition of biomass tars: use of dolomite and untreated olivine

Although biomass is getting increased attention as a renewable energy source, one of the remaining problems still to be solved is the reduction of the high level of tar present in the product gas from gasification of biomass. The purpose of the present work is to study the activity of olivine and dolomite for tar destruction. Some researchers investigated olivine as bed material for biomass gasification. But it is not yet known how tars behave in the presence of olivine and whether olivine has some activity towards tar destruction. A slipstream from a lab-scale atmospheric bubbling-fluidised-bed gasifier (located at ECN) is passed through a secondary fixed-bed reactor where the additives are placed. For easy understanding, the results are represented in terms of the following tar classes; GC-undetectable tars (class 1), heterocyclic compounds (class 2), aromatic compounds (class 3), light polyaromatic compounds (class 4), heavy polyaromatic compounds (class 5). The general observation is that the conversion of all tar classes increases as the temperature was raised from 800 to 900 °C for both additives. The water-soluble heterocyclic compounds can be easily converted by thermal treatment. At the temperature of 900 °C, the water-soluble heterocyclic compounds are completely converted. A 48% decrease in heavy PAHs is observed with pure sand. Addition of 17 wt% olivine to the sand leads to a 71% decrease of PAHs at 900 °C, whereas addition of 17 wt% (pre-calcined) dolomite converted 90%. Also improvement in conversion of other tar classes is observed when olivine and dolomite are added during hot gas cleaning. A total tar amount of 4.0 g m₀⁻³ could be reduced to 1.5 and 2.2 g m₀⁻³ using dolomite and olivine, respectively, at a temperature of 900 °C. Inspite of this reduction in total tar concentration, a limited impact on the tar dewpoint is observed.