Performance Investigations and PAPR Reduction Analysis Using Very Efficient and Optimized Amended SLM Algorithm for Wireless Communication OFDM System

Wireless Personal Communications - The orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is the most encouraging multi-carrier modulation system chosen for the high data rates but the objective is...     

Out-of-Field Hippocampus from Partial-Body Irradiated Mice Displays Changes in Multi-Omics Profile and Defects in Neurogenesis

The brain undergoes ionizing radiation exposure in many clinical situations, particularly during radiotherapy for brain tumors. The critical role of the hippocampus in the pathogenesis of radiation-induced neurocognitive dysfunction is well recognized. The goal of this study is to test the potential contribution of non-targeted effects in the detrimental response of the hippocampus to irradiation and to elucidate the mechanisms involved. C57Bl/6 mice were whole body (WBI) or partial body (PBI) irradiated with 0.1 or 2.0 Gy of X-rays or sham irradiated. PBI consisted of the exposure of the lower third of the mouse body, whilst the upper two thirds were shielded. Hippocampi were collected 15 days or 6 months post-irradiation and a multi-omics approach was adopted to assess the molecular changes in non-coding RNAs, proteins and metabolic levels, as well as histological changes in the rate of hippocampal neurogenesis. Notably, at 2.0 Gy the pattern of early molecular and histopathological changes induced in the hippocampus at 15 days following PBI were similar in quality and quantity to the effects induced by WBI, thus providing a proof of principle of the existence of out-of-target radiation response in the hippocampus of conventional mice. We detected major alterations in DAG/IP3 and TGF-β signaling pathways as well as in the expression of proteins involved in the regulation of long-term neuronal synaptic plasticity and synapse organization, coupled with defects in neural stem cells self-renewal in the hippocampal dentate gyrus. However, compared to the persistence of the WBI effects, most of the PBI effects were only transient and tended to decrease at 6 months post-irradiation, indicating important mechanistic difference. On the contrary, at low dose we identified a progressive accumulation of molecular defects that tended to manifest at later post-irradiation times. These data, indicating that both targeted and non-targeted radiation effects might contribute to the pathogenesis of hippocampal radiation-damage, have general implications for human health.     

Micro-RNA and Proteomic Profiles of Plasma-Derived Exosomes from Irradiated Mice Reveal Molecular Changes Preventing Apoptosis in Neonatal Cerebellum

Cell communication via exosomes is capable of influencing cell fate in stress situations such as exposure to ionizing radiation. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that exosomes might play a role in out-of-target radiation effects by carrying molecular signaling mediators of radiation damage, as well as opposite protective functions resulting in resistance to radiotherapy. However, a global understanding of exosomes and their radiation-induced regulation, especially within the context of an intact mammalian organism, has been lacking. In this in vivo study, we demonstrate that, compared to sham-irradiated (SI) mice, a distinct pattern of proteins and miRNAs is found packaged into circulating plasma exosomes after whole-body and partial-body irradiation (WBI and PBI) with 2 Gy X-rays. A high number of deregulated proteins (59% of WBI and 67% of PBI) was found in the exosomes of irradiated mice. In total, 57 and 13 miRNAs were deregulated in WBI and PBI groups, respectively, suggesting that the miRNA cargo is influenced by the tissue volume exposed to radiation. In addition, five miRNAs (miR-99b-3p, miR-200a-3p, miR-200a, miR-182-5p, miR-182) were commonly overexpressed in the exosomes from the WBI and PBI groups. In this study, particular emphasis was also given to the determination of the in vivo effect of exosome transfer by intracranial injection in the highly radiosensitive neonatal cerebellum at postnatal day 3. In accordance with a major overall anti-apoptotic function of the commonly deregulated miRNAs, here, we report that exosomes from the plasma of irradiated mice, especially in the case of WBI, prevent radiation-induced apoptosis, thus holding promise for exosome-based future therapeutic applications against radiation injury.     

TRANSIENT CONDUCTION AND RADIATION HEAT TRANSFER WITH HEAT GENERATION IN A PARTICIPATING MEDIUM USING THE COLLAPSED DIMENSION METHOD

In order to study the mechanisms of heat and mass transfer at the gas–liquid interface, flows inside and around a rising inert bubble are considered and calculated using the numerical algorithm developed in a companion article. Studies of heat and mass transfer are carried out while special attention is paid to the effects of wake vortices. Recoveries of the Sherwood and Nusselt numbers are observed in the wake zone behind bubbles, and a physical explanation is proposed.     

An experimental study on the performance of a zinc air fuel cell with inexpensive metal oxide catalysts and porous organic polymer separators

A zinc air fuel cell (ZAFC) of taper-end structure was designed and manufactured with a polyamide-base engineering plastic. An air cathode with multiple layers of blended inexpensive metal oxides, MnO₂ and CeO₂, showed a remarkably stable electricity-generating performance even at high current density. A cheap thin Nylon filter was found as a potential candidate for the separator in ZAFC because of its high stability and durability in the alkali electrolyte and proper pore size.     

Experimental Studies for Convective Drying of Potato

An experimental facility was built at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in order to examine the characteristics of convective drying of a moist object. The test facility consists of an inlet section, a divergent and convergent section, a settling chamber, a test section, and an outlet section. Initial moisture content and time-dependent moisture content of a rectangular shaped moist object (4 cm × 2 cm × 2 cm) are measured by this test facility. The potato slice was selected as a sample moist object. Moisture content was measured at different air temperatures of 40, 50, 60, and 70°C with an air velocity of 2 m/sec. The density of potato slice was determined for various drying temperatures. The volume shrinkage during drying decreased almost linearly with moisture content. The percentage air pores and porosity increased gradually with decreasing moisture content and increasing drying air temperature. Volumes of water, air, and solid content of potato were determined at different drying air temperatures. The results are validated with theoretical data.     

Trouble Call Analysis in Radial Distribution Feeders Using an Idiotypic Immune System

Utilities typically depend on customers to call and inform them of the service interruptions due to outages by entering their addresses. After sufficient calls are received, the utility is able to pinpoint the location of outages. It is essential for the utility to have a good idea on the location of outages before sending crew for restoration work to optimally utilize their resources. This article uses an idiotypic immune system to model and simulate radial distribution system to identify the operated protective devices due to outages. The incoming calls are modeled as antigens, and the protective devices are modeled as antibodies. Using a differential equation describing dynamics of the immune system, the operated protective devices in the network are identified. A pre-processing technique is presented to handle cases with multiple outages within the same period. Different threshold values for call grouping are tested to determine the most suitable values. Several real-life examples are considered to demonstrate that the proposed method is able to identify the correct protective devices.     

Unambiguously Enhanced Ultraviolet Luminescence of AlGaN Wavy Quantum Well Structures Grown on Large Misoriented Sapphire Substrate

High‐quality epitaxy consisting of Al_1?xGa_xN/Al_1?yGayN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with sharp interfaces and emitting at ≈280 nm is successfully grown on sapphire with a misorientation angle as large as 4°. Wavy MQWs are observed due to step bunching formed at the step edges. A thicker QW width accompanied by a greater accumulation of gallium near the macrostep edge than that on the flat‐terrace is observed on 4° misoriented sapphire, leading to the generation of potential minima with respect to their neighboring QWs. Consequently, a significantly enhanced photoluminescence intensity (at least ten times higher), improved internal quantum efficiency (six times higher at low excitation laser power), and a much longer carrier lifetime are achieved. Importantly, the wafer‐level output‐power of the ultraviolet light emitting diodes on 4° misoriented substrate is nearly increased by 2–3 times. This gain is attributed to the introduction of compositional inhomogeneities in AlGaN alloys induced by gallium accumulation at the step‐bunched region thus forming a lateral potential well for carrier localization. The experimental results are further confirmed by a numerical modeling in which a 3D carrier confinement mechanism is proposed. Herein, the compositional modulation in active region arising from the substrate misorientation provides a promising approach in the pursuit of high‐efficient ultraviolet emitters.     

Internet of Things-based student performance evaluation framework

In recent years, solutions based on Internet of Things (IoT) are gaining impetus in educational institutions. It is observed that student performance evaluation system in education institutions is still manual. The performance score of student in traditional evaluation system is confined to its academic achievements while activity-based performance attributes are overlooked. Moreover, the traditional system fails to capitalise information of each student related to different activities in learning environment. In relation to this context, we propose to facilitate automated student performance evaluation system by exploring ubiquitous sensing capabilities of IoT. The system deduces important results about the performance of the students by discovering daily spatial–temporal patterns. These patterns are based on the data collected by the sensory nodes (objects) in the institution learning environment. The information is generated by applying data mining algorithms for each concerned activity. The automated decisions are taken by management authority for each student using game theory. In addition, to effectively manage IoT-based activity data, tensor-based storage mechanism is proposed. The experimental evaluation compares the student performance score generated by the proposed system with the manual student performance evaluation system. The results depict that the proposed system evaluates the performance of the student efficiently.     

Analysis of reinforced concrete coupled shear wall structures

The ultimate strength analysis of reinforced concrete coupled shear walls with one or two bands of openings requires a two‐stage approach. In the first stage, the analysis of the coupling beams is carried out. This is followed by the analysis of the complete wall in the second stage. A simple approach based on the ‘total moment concept’ for the analysis of coupled shear walls with one or two bands of openings is presented. Experimental results supporting the predictions of the mode of failure and ultimate strength is also presented. This study updates previous research and enhances further understanding of the behaviour of reinforced concrete shear wall structures at ultimate limit states of loading. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.